FIFA considering Arsene Wenger's overhaul of offside rule which is excellent news for football fans
There isn't a rule in football more hotly debated than the offside rule. For years, 'explain the offside rule' was a test for anyone pretending to be into football, but now even ardent football fans would have a hard time explaining all of the intricacies of the rule.
VAR and semi-automated technology were introduced to make things easier, but they've only served to make the whole thing more controversial, as marginal decisions, usually involving the toe end of an attacker, or even worse, a shoulder, where there's no clear definition of where the shoulder actually starts, and ends, are used to make huge calls in the game.
We've seen goals ruled out because the VAR used an in-action freeze-frame to draw the lines, and there was motion blur on a striker's foot, making it look like they had one size 10 boot and one size 18, but still, they'd use the end of the stretched boot to draw the line and rule the goal out.
Now, with the semi-automated technology which creates a 3D image of the exact moment the ball is struck, we're seeing goals ruled out by millimetres. It's getting ridiculous.
FIFA are considering Arsene Wenger's changes to the offside rule for 2026
Former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, now FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, has been campaigning to return to the clear daylight rule to remove all of the confusion, and it seems FIFA are seriously considering the change ahead of the new season.
As reported by beIN Sports, Head of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, recently hinted at the World Sports Summit in Dubai that FIFA were looking to make the change, saying:
“Perhaps in the future, the attacker will need to be completely ahead to be offside.”
VAR will be given more responsibilities for the World Cup
We really hope they bring in the 'Wenger Law', in which the attacker must be clearly and entirely ahead of the last defender for an offside to be given. Not only will it cut down on lengthy VAR decisions, but it will add a bit more excitement to attacking play.
Forwards like Yoane Wissa, who love to play off the shoulder of the last man, will have a field day under the new rule, and defenders will have to be way more switched on.
Ahead of the summer's World Cup, VAR is being granted more power and will be able to rule on corner decisions and second yellow cards, which will only serve to slow the game down further. If we can speed up offside calls, things will balance out.
Ironically, FIFA are also looking at ways to cut down on time-wasting. You couldn't make it up.
