Arsene Wenger’s proposed changes to the offside rule are facing opposition from the FA and UEFA, who intend to suggest a middle-ground compromise.
Following recent reports that FIFA are set to formally propose a rule change to the offside law, there’s been backlash from the FA and UEFA.
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been widely credited as the pioneer of the proposal, suggesting offsides should be reworked such that a player is only offside if they’re completely ahead of the last defender, not if just one part of their body is ahead.
Following pilot testing, IFAB will now analyse the rule change on January 20th, before potentially debating the proposal at the General Assembly in Wales in February.
Yet Martyn Ziegler reports for The Times that both the British FAs and UEFA believe the change is too drastic and would have a huge impact on how the game is played. They feel defenders would be forced to sit much deeper, potentially leading to ultra-defensive games.
Instead, the FA and UEFA are expected to suggest a compromise, where a player would be deemed offside only if any of their torso is ahead of the defender.
Under the ‘torso offside’ change, a player’s feet, legs, and head would not be measured, nor their arms (which is already the case).
That would give some small advantage to the attacker and remove “toenail offsides”, but it would also avoid a change that could lead to a two-metre difference from how offsides are judged today.
With all the pushback from major footballing associations, it seems unlikely IFAB will give the go-ahead to the ‘Wenger offside’ change at their upcoming meetings. But perhaps FIFA’s push for the new rule will end up leading to a compromise ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.