Since departing from Arsenal, Arsène Wenger has been involved with FIFA and has earned a reputation as a manager unafraid to introduce innovative ideas. Now, he has brought some of these radical proposals to FIFA, suggesting various changes to the game of football.
One of Wenger’s proposed alterations revolves around the offside rule, an aspect of the game often considered complex. Currently, if any part of an attacker’s body is ahead of the last defender when the ball is played, they are deemed offside. However, FIFA is reportedly considering a modification wherein only the goalscoring part of an attacker’s body must be beyond the last defender for an offside call to be made.
This potential rule adjustment would benefit attackers worldwide but could pose challenges for defenders who already struggle to contain attackers due to the prevalent high-line defensive strategy employed by many clubs today.
Before such a change is implemented in the Premier League, it will first be trialled in Sweden, Italy, and the Netherlands, as reported by Football London. The process of introducing this alteration into the Premier League may take some time.
Just Arsenal Opinion
This change is a radical one that will truly affect us as a club, but we expect our coaches to prepare the team for it before it arrives on the Premier League scene.
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These changes are timely and maybe long overdue, too many grey areas in the present set up.
The news will no doubt have attackers licking their fighters, given a major advantage when looking to make runs off opponents. Naturally, striker will balance themselves in a forward motion with their arms ahead to point where they are set to run a much better position than a defender who both having to monitor the ball and track their run.
These changes certainly will allow more goals to score making the game more attractive.
I disagree on this one. I think the offsides are finally in a good place with var, for the most part, and to introduce this new rule would make it more convoluted how is car going to track the lines? Can it determine exactly where a person’s shoulder ends and their arm begins?
It could also backfire, because it would be harder for defenders to play an offside trap, it might cause them to sit deeper, which might even lead to less ‘exciting’ games with fewer goals.
In any case, I just want it to be as clear as possible. The clearer it is, the fairer it is and fairness is far more important than making it artificially exciting imo.
Even more convoluted. My idea. Even if the goal scorer is ahead of the last defender as long as his feet were not he should be deemed onside. The body leaning offside should not be deemed offside if the feet were onside when the ball was played…Think American football receiver catching the ball out of bounds but it’s a catch because his feet were inbound
You and I are on the same wave length Wolf.Keep it simple.Next on the Wenger agenda, the current handball rule and thereafter shirt pulling ?
This certainly makes better sense than the proposal – far clearer!
Better idea than Wengers. I’ve always said where feet are should determine offside, make it easier for VAR as well.
I too thought it best to just use the legs and feet to determine if it’s offside …never mind arms …never mind your head in this case …because it is a run in which players are trying to get over an opponent
I must have missed something since the last offside law change, as I thought it already was “any goalscoring part”, with arms slightly lower than shoulder height discounted.
Wasn’t it Wenger who advocated air between the scorer and defender some years back?