Arsene Wenger Proposes Change to Offside Rule

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has proposed a change to the offside rule that would mean attackers are onside if any part of their body is in line with the last outfield defender.

Wenger, head of global development at world governing body Fifa, said it would restore an advantage to the attacker that many feel was eroded by the introduction of the video assistant referee, VAR.

Players are currently ruled offside if any part of the body, apart from hands and arms, is beyond the last defender.

Wenger compared the suggested change to a similar move taken after the 1990 World Cup.

Before and during that tournament, a player was considered offside if he was level with the last defender before the goalkeeper.

There were an average of 2-point-.21 goals per match in 1990, the lowest in World Cup history.

Trials of the system have taken place in Italian youth football, and Wenger said further trials will happen before a final decision, which could come in 2026.

Any change to the offside rule rests with the sport’s law-makers, the International Football Association Board, Ifab.

Ifab agreed to further trials, conducted by Fifa, at its annual general meeting in March.

It says the aim of the trials is to see whether they “foster attacking football and encouraging goalscoring opportunities while maintaining the game’s attractiveness”.