Major Blow to Wenger’s “Revolution”: New Offside Law Rejected

The proposed revolution spearheaded by Frenchman Arsène Wenger, FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, aimed at reshaping the offside law, appears to have hit a dead end. According to a report published by Spanish newspaper AS, the door has been firmly closed on the so-called “Wenger Offside Law” following a series of trials that sparked widespread debate within football circles.

Wenger’s proposal sought to give attackers a clear advantage, stipulating that a player would only be deemed offside if their entire body was ahead of the last defender.

In other words, if any part of the attacker’s body — even a heel — was in line with the defender, the play would be considered legal. The objectives of the proposed change were to:

• Increase the number of goals scored
• Reduce controversial VAR interventions
• Eliminate “millimetre” or “fingertip” offside decisions

However, AS reported that football’s law-making bodies, led by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), concluded that implementing the rule would produce results contrary to its intentions. The key concerns included:

• Defensive retreat: Defenders would be forced to drop excessively deep to cope with attackers’ pace, compressing space and diminishing the spectacle of open play.
• Increased refereeing complexity: Rather than simplifying decisions, officials found it difficult to judge whether an attacker’s entire body had moved beyond the defensive line in fast-moving situations.
• Division among clubs and coaches: Trials in certain competitions, including Swedish leagues and Italian youth football, revealed a change so radical that it risked distorting the game’s historical identity.

The Future of Semi-Automated Offside and VAR

Following the “surprising decision” to abandon Wenger’s proposal, the focus will remain on refining semi-automated offside technology — used at the Qatar World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations — which prioritizes speed and precision in line-drawing without altering the core principles of the existing law.