Former West Ham United and Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has proposed a radical twist that he thinks can change football for the good.
COPE cover comments from the Real Betis boss after he was asked about the possible implementation of the Wenger Rule. That proposal would see radical changes to the offside rule.
The former Arsenal boss has proposed a change to the offside rule in recent years. He believes that an attacker should be considered onside as long as any part of a player’s body that can legally score a goal is in line or behind the last outfield defender.
“Would make football more dynamic”
Manuel Pellegrini
The former West Ham and Manchester City boss has a different idea, though. COPE say he came up with ‘another innovation’ that could be ‘revolutionary’ for football in general.
“It’s difficult to give an opinion. I think the offside rule, for me, is correct at the moment,” he said.
“And with VAR, it’s much easier to avoid mistakes. They’re going to start checking if it’s the whole body, if not. I think it’s just asking for trouble.
“I think there are other rules that could be modified that would improve football, like the rule that once the ball crosses the halfway line, it can’t go back into their own half. It would make football more dynamic.
“Experts are looking at it, but I don’t think it’s something that will change the game. We have to make it more entertaining, more dynamic, and for that, we have to be closer to the opponent’s goal.”
The potential rule that the former West Ham and Manchester City boss is referring to is often referred to as a ‘backcourt’ or ‘non-retreat’ rule. It states the ball cannot re-cross the halfway once the attacking team has advanced it. It’s been experimented with in other sports, such as Gaelic Football (GAA).
The idea is that it promotes more attacking football, but critics have suggested it could lead to more risk-averse play. We’ll wait and see if it gets as much interest as the Wenger law.