Netherlands considers abolishing offside rule
The issue at hand is the increase in violence recorded in the country’s amateur football due to decisions taken in this type of play.
A curious and unusual measure is currently being studied by the Dutch Football Association (KNVB): the abolition of offside. The measure, however, would only be implemented in the country’s amateur divisions and would aim to reduce the number of games interrupted due to violence caused by decisions in this type of situation.
There are no KNVB referees at the lower levels of Dutch football, so matches are refereed by club members, which has caused considerable controversy. Last season alone, 1,864 matches were abandoned due to violent incidents, an increase of 11% compared to the previous season and 58% over a five-year period.
The Guardian reports that in 2012, a Dutch assistant referee, who was refereeing his son’s youth football match, died after being kicked and attacked by several players, who were aged between 15 and 16.
KNVB director Jan Dirk van der Zee stressed the importance of resolving violent conflicts in amateur divisions: “It is true that this is a relatively small number compared to the approximately 780,000 games that take place annually, but we will not trivialise it. We have a problem and we want to solve it. I do not exclude the possibility that one day we will no longer use assistant referees.”
