Wenger wants to replace throw-ins with ‘kick-ins’ in r*****l Fifa changes
London, Thursday
Arsene Wenger is hoping to lead a revolution in football by radically altering the throw-in rule to allow players to KICK the ball back into play.
The former Arsenal manager is now FIFA’s Chief Head of Global Football Development, driving rule changes in the game.
The 70-year-old Frenchman is also planning to alter offsides to benefit attacking players among of host of fresh - and controversial - ideas.
It is the throw-in rule which will most likely raise eyebrows though.
The legendary Gunners boss, who moulded their ‘Invincibles’ of 2004, cites a disadvantage to the attacking team late in the game as a reason for introducing kick-ins.
‘I would like to change the throw-in rule: five minutes before the end, a throw-in for you should be an advantage, but in these situations you are facing 10 outfield players in play, whilst you only have nine,’ Wenger told L’Equipe.
‘Stats show that in eight out of 10 of those throw-in situations, you lose the ball.
‘In your half of the pitch, you should have the possibility to take a kick instead.’
Also explaining his desire to change the offside rule, he said: ‘For the moment, you are offside if a part of your body that you can score with sits ahead of the body of a defender.
‘I would like it to be that there is no offside so long as a (single) body part which a player can score with is in line with the defender.
‘This could be too much of an advantage for an attacker, because that obliges the defenders to play higher up.’
Wenger is also looking to alter set-pieces, including free kicks a player can touch more than once and allowing outswinging corners to go out of play behind the goal before coming back onto the field. -Dailymail
