By: Arif Supriyono

Senior Journalist-Republika

This time, I am going to talk about football. It's a sport that I most enjoy doing besides badminton. Basically, I like all kinds of sports. But, only in those types of sport I involved much, though only in the local level in high school.

On Thursday night (January 19), I was shocked to read the news in Republika.co.id (ROL) and in several other online media. It was rumored that the Technical Director of FIFA (international football federation), Marco van Basten, planned to remove the offside rule in football. In general, offside means a state occurs when a player who gets a pass is at a position closer to the goal line than the enemy of his opponents.

I was shocked not because of the new rule proposed by the former legendary striker of the Dutch national team. Precisel,y after reading it I immediately recalled my memories during the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan. I remembered that I've made a paper proposing the abolition of offside rule in football. It was published in the Republika daily newspaper on May 22, 2002. Here are two important paragraphs in my writing related to the proposed abolition of the offside rule.

“A new provision in the spirit of giving ease to make a goal is now increasingly needed. It could be conducted by making a new rule, for example, that a back pass to the keeper should not be done in the penalty box. Or, if there were four times corner kick in a row, the team got a reward of a free kick outside the penalty area which directed to the wicket.

It could also be made by removing the offside provision altogether as in futsal. Why should there be offside rule? Does the whole area of ​​the field can be provided to be best utilized by the players? Just exempt the attacker to enter the opponent's defense area, because the defender will always escort them.”

Now, I still agree with the plan to remove the offside rule in football. Of course, there are pros and cons on this matter, both in the domestic and international level. This is natural. Each view has its own rational argument.

For me, the ultimate beauty of football lies on the goal making, more over when goal-by-goal was made spectacularly. A football match will be bland when it is resulted on a ‘glasses score’ or 0-0. That is why TV shows always re-broadcast the goals moment in important matches. Almost no TV shows rebroadcast the offside moments, but that could produce a goal and considered controversial.

Exempting football from the trap of offside will create tactics and opportunities on each team to devise a strategy to dismantle and to break through the opponent's defense. It will automatically happen. It will open the game because there are more sides and angles to create goals. And the creation of goal is the most desirable moment by the audiences.

The absence of the offside rule will also reduce the possibility of disputes due to the offside goal. We know there are many disputes on offside goal. It is often followed by a commotion in the field. By the abolition, the referees and linesmen tasks will be lighter and they will be focus on more other important things.

The abolition of the offside rule will certainly be followed by other relevant rules. This is just an example that I proposed. Although there was no offside rule, the opposing player may only be outside of the penalty box when a ball has not crossed the center line towards the enemy field. When the ball had crossed the center line, it is legitimate for the opponent to enter the penalty box.

The goalkeeper will need more protection. If a player has not controlled an area or has not moved towards the ball, he was not allowed to go to the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper should be given discretion, for example, within a radius of 1.5 meters there should be no opponent near him. When a corner kick has not been carried out, any goalkeeper should not be approached in the tight distance (radius of 1.5 m) by the opposing players. After the ball soaring, the opponents may snatch it with the keeper. 

Exceptions to this can be made when a middle player of the opponent team take the ball or when the ball is currently moving towards a certain direction which can be courted by the goalkeeper. This obviously cannot be avoided and the opposing player is allowed to duel the ball with the keeper.

I believed, this condition will make football becomes more interesting. Goal after goal will be easier to be created out on a situation like this. The players will have more dynamic moves into every corner of the field. Efforts to open up the defense space of the opponent will be the primary mission of each team and not just how to keep his territory with an optimum survival. For the team who are technically weak, total survival strategies will also be very risky because of the vastness of space –because there is no offside- that could be the space of breakthrough for the opponent to the main area of the defense.

I believed, it will not be easy and quick to implement a new revolution in the field. Simulation and trials in various football tournaments are needed. Additional input from various groups is equally important before the decision was set to be an official rule.

Therefore, FIFA should open mind to get feedback from a wide audience. If necessary, it needs to hold a seminar to discuss the plan thoroughly in many countries. Not only discuss the pros and cons of course, but more important is to discuss various rules to follow the plan.

The revolution or update will make football to be a dynamic rather than static sport and will accommodate the demands of society. This is natural, considering football has been belongs to the world societies and be the most popular global sport.

We're just waiting in what extent FIFA is seriously making football an increasingly attractive game. The top of the change should put the interests of the constituents (the audience), although it can also have positive impacts on sport industry involved.

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