Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has suggested a significant change to the offside rule that could shift the advantage back to attackers.
Under his proposal, a player would be considered onside if any part of their body that can legally play the ball is in line with the last outfield defender.
Wenger, currently serving as FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, believes the amendment would restore attacking freedom that many feel has been lost with the advent of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Presently, players are deemed offside if any playable part of their body is beyond the last defender when the ball is played—except hands and arms.
Drawing parallels to the post-1990 World Cup reform, Wenger recalled that a similar rule change then helped address a goal drought. “It was in 1990 after the World Cup in Italy when there were no goals scored. We decided that there’s no offside anymore when you are on the same line as the defender. In case of doubt, the advantage went to the striker,” Wenger told beIN Sports.
However, he noted that this advantage has been effectively erased by VAR technology, leading to frustration among fans and players alike.
The new offside interpretation has already undergone trials in Italian youth leagues, and FIFA plans more testing before any formal decision, which could come ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Any change to the Laws of the Game would require approval from the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which governs global football rules.
IFAB’s recent AGM in March approved further trials to evaluate whether the adjustment promotes attacking football and increases goal-scoring opportunities. Any final decision will involve consultation with key football stakeholders, including technical and football advisory panels made up of former players and referees.
Modern technologies like semi-automated offside systems—currently in use across the Premier League, Champions League, and other top-tier competitions—are central to these discussions. These systems use specialized cameras to detect precise body positions at the moment a ball is played.
The proposed change is part of a broader historical pattern. Following the 1990 World Cup, reforms like the back-pass rule and the shift to three points for a win were introduced to boost offensive play. By the 1994 World Cup, the average goals per match rose to 2.71, up from the record low of 2.21 in 1990.
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