Klopp ridicules Van Basten rule change proposals

Jurgen Klopp says football does not need any rule changes and told Marco van Basten to “invent another game”.

The Liverpool boss joined Arsenal chief Arsene Wenger in questioning some of FIFA technical director Van Basten’s proposed rule changes, which includes scrapping offside.

The former AC Milan and Holland striker has suggested eight changes to football he feels could revolutionise the game.

Van Basten’s ideas include getting rid of the offside rule, replacing penalty shoot-outs with eight-second run-ups and introducing orange cards to send players to sin-bins for 10 minutes.

He has also proposed that players should be involved in fewer matches each season, that games should go straight to penalties without extra-time, children’s games to be limited to eight-a-side, stopping the clock every time the ball goes out in the last 10 minutes and only allowing captains to speak to referees.

Klopp though ridiculed the proposals when he was asked about the ideas at his Friday press conference.

“Most of the teams play against us without the offside rule! This wonderful game doesn’t need rule changes.

“What we are doing is bringing the game into danger, with the more teams in the World Cup.

“People are squeezing everything out of football that they can and they don’t care about the future of our game.

“Was it a real idea? He can invent another game, that’s not a problem to play something else.

“This game doesn’t need rule changes.”