Dutch legend van Basten wants offside rule scrapped

Marco van Basten wants the offside rule to be thrown jettisoned to make football more enjoyable.

Perhaps you have heard that before when it made headlines around the world and assumed it to be some flight of fancy, but The Dutch legend still believes football should follow hockey and scrap offsides.

“I am still very curious about the offside rule because I am convinced that it is not a good rule,” Van Basten told Sky Sports. “At least I would like to try it to show that football is also possible without the offside rule. I am convinced that football would be better without it.

“Football is a fantastic game but I still think that we have to do much more to make it better, more spectacular, more interesting, more exciting. We have to work on that.”

It was Van Basten’s job to work on that when he was employed by FIFA as their technical director from 2016 to 2018. Offside was just one aspect of the game that troubled him. He is speaking fresh from watching a Barcelona game that has proven particularly irksome.

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“If you look at how often people waste time, delay over throws and injuries, this is what people don’t want to see. We have to do something about it. People want action. There are so many situations where you are watching nothing. It is not good for the game.”

Aside from the offside rules some have equally quarreled with the VAR accusing it of not only delaying action but sometimes creating additional headache.