According to Reuters, the Dutch Football Association (FA) is considering abolishing the offside rule in lower league matches in order to reduce the number of game interruptions caused by controversial decisions.
The report states that the reason for the Dutch FA considering such a significant change is due to a lack of personnel, with lower league games not being able to afford assistant referees, resulting in offside signals being given by club staff, which has led to an increasing number of threatening and violent incidents.
Statistics show that there were 1864 matches interrupted due to violent incidents across the Netherlands last season, an increase of 11% from the previous season.
At this week’s press conference, Dutch FA Director Van der Zee stated: “Compared to the figure of 780,000 matches played annually, 1864 matches may not seem like much, but we are taking it seriously. We have a problem and hope to eradicate it. I do not rule out the possibility that one day we might completely abolish the use of assistant referees.”
Reuters: Due to a Severe Shortage of Assistant Referees, the Dutch FA is Considering Abolishing the Offside Rule in Lower League Games. Author：Sports UEFA.Please indicate the source when reproduced：https://www.sportsuefa.com/football-world/29701.html
