I know the offside rule is not popular as it is probably one of the rules which is the most often applied during a match and it is often the one that causes the most controversy, but if the rule was eliminated then there will always be a striker right in front of the goalkeeper just waiting for the ball to come to him and try to get an easy score, such a change on the rule will change soccer forever, so I would prefer if the rule remained in place to keep the spirit of the game intact.
For a long time now I have seen the offside rule as a bigger problem in soccer than as something useful.
You said about the attacker being face to face with the goalkeeper, but it is the duty of the defender of the other team to stay close to this attacker and avoid this type of situation. To my way of thinking it makes no sense to punish the attacker for being in a better position than the other team's defender
The end of this rule would cause two effects that could help soccer a lot:
1 - more goals per match, making soccer even more cool to watch
2 - fewer problems, doubts and fights over offsides, especially like the one the OP commented on, which must have been only a few centimeters offside
Some years ago I played a lot of soccer and in those "amateur" matches we never used any form of offside, the match tended to run normally and with less stops
A curiosity, the most difficult thing to explain about soccer to those who don't understand it is the offside rule, and every time they ask me and I explain, the next question is: but why?
It's just my opinion, but I understand yours and I respect that
Dang, those are nice figures. It makes me want to change my ambition now. Now all I want is to become a referee
but of course that is only a joke because number one is I don't have a passion in it and number two is, referee on lower leagues are still being paid low and it takes time for a referee to be promoted and work on higher leagues.
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Although the referee's salaries are higher than mine, I don't think it's too high, since as you said yourself, only a few get to referee in the major leagues, and it's a ungrateful profession.
Many referees in the minor leagues are threatened and offended, and for any referee there is always the risk of making some mistake or big mistakes in important matches and losing his career.