Arsène Wenger Pushing for New Offside Rule and VAR Improvements Before Euro 2020

​Former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger is pushing for a radical change to the offside rule that could be implemented before the start of Euro 2020. 

The 70-year-old was appointed as FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development back in November, and part of his remit is reviewing the laws of the game. Wenger has set his sights on changing the offside law after a string of controversial decisions since the introduction of VAR.

Arsene Wenger

The most recent example in the ​Premier League came on Friday when the technology ruled out ​Wolves’ opener against ​Leicester due to Pedro Neto’s heel being millimetres beyond the Foxes’ last defender. 

To stamp out incidents such as this, Wenger is proposing a ‘daylight rule’. Under the new approach, if any part of an attacker’s body that can score – head, torso or legs – is in line with the defender then they would be judged onside.

FIFA will present their proposal to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) on February 29 and if accepted it will be adopted on 1 June – 12 days before the start of Euro 2020. 

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“The most difficult [issue] that people have [with VAR] is the offside rule,” Wenger said (via ​The Times). “You have had offsides by a fraction of a centimetre, literally by a nose.

“It is the time to do this quickly. There is room to change the rule and not say that a part of a player’s nose is offside, so you are offside because you can score with that.

“Instead, you will be not offside if any part of the body that can score a goal is in line with the last defender, even if other parts of the attacker’s body are in front.”

Arsene Wenger

Wenger also has his sights on improving VAR. The Frenchman supports the training of former officials and players to become specialists in the technology and there are also plans to improve communication with spectators in the stadium when a decision is being reviewed. 

At the moment, there are not enough VAR specialists who can cover every game over the weekend,” he claimed. “It will be improved very quickly if we change the protocols so that we can use former referees in the VAR room.”


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