Top manager urges football change with basketball-style rule

The Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini made a bold suggestion to bring more dynamism to football during the press conference after Betis 2 x 0 Lyon in the Europa League this Thursday.

When asked about a possible change in the offside rule, he said he disagreed with the change and suggested an even more drastic innovation:

"A rule that would improve football would be that the ball cannot return to the defensive half after crossing the midfield. It would be a more dynamic game and closer to the opponent's goal," declared the current Betis coach and champion with Manchester City, Villarreal, and River Plate.

A similar rule exists in basketball. After advancing to the attacking half, the team loses possession to the opponent if they return to the defense.

The change in the offside rule, which was the subject of the question, suggests that an attacking player would only be offside when their entire body is ahead of the second-to-last defender. Not with any part of the body, as in the current rule.

For Pellegrini, this change in the offside rule would bring little change to the game and would not avoid controversial calls decided by centimeters one way or the other.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 CRISTINA QUICLER - AFP or licensors