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Van Basten: Football would be better without the offside rule

Van Basten, offside rule
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Marco van Basten has made quite the claim, with the Dutch legend insisting that football would be better without the offside rule.

Marco van Basten has claimed that the offside rule should be scrapped entirely as the Dutch legend insisted that football would be ‘more spectacular’ without the current rule.

The ex-AC Milan star made headlines in 2017 as FIFA’s technical director. He first laid out plans to rid football of the offside rule in a bid to preserve the sport as the world’s most popular game.

The 56-year-old reasoned that scrapping the rule would allow for more scoring opportunities, making the game a more enjoyable spectacle.

In a recent interview, Van Basten has doubled down on his stance about the offside rule.

He told Sky Sports: “I am still very curious about the offside rule because I am convinced that it is not a good rule.”

“At least I would like to trial 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.”

“Teams would find a way of playing without it.”

“If you do away with the offside line then the defence will drop deeper. They will say that you cannot get behind us because they will be afraid of the opponents getting in behind.”

“But if you go too far back then the 18-yard box is going to become a melee and the goalkeeper will not be able to see anything, so teams will know it is not the solution.”

“As a result, the goalkeeper will want everybody out and that is exactly the point at which it would become so interesting.”

“If the attackers can move behind the defenders there are much more possibilities for goals. It will make the defending more difficult.”

Do you agree with Van Basten? It’s a difficult one to answer.

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