FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has thrown his weight behind Arsene Wenger’s planned reform of the offside laws.
SunSport revealed earlier this year how former Arsenal manager Wenger, now head of Fifa’s global development department, wants a radical change to stop ‘marginal offsides’.
Fifa boss Gianni Infantino is ready to adopt Arsene Wenger’s offside changesCredit: PA:Press Association
Under the Wenger plan, set to be on the table at the annual business meeting of the law-making body Ifab on December 16, an attacking player will be onside if any part of his body overlaps the last defender.
Infantino said: “The offside rule has evolved over the last 100 years.
“Arsene and our head of refereeing, Pierluigi Collina, are debating if they can make it better and foster offensive football.
“The question is whether we should give more advantage to the attacking player, which is always how the rule has evolved.
“That would mean no more ‘marginal offsides’, as we are seeing with VAR, because the player would really have to be in front of the defender.
“I know that attackers and midfielders are very favourable to this, while goalkeepers and defenders have more worries.
“Ifab will be dealing with this later this month.”
Controversial decisions – such as the one to rule out Patrick Bamford’s effort against Crystal Palace after he pointed where he wanted the ball – may no longer be scrubbed off.
Patrick Bamford’s goal against Crystal Palace was ruled out for offside by VARCredit: supplied by Pixel8000
The Leeds forward’s strike was ruled out last month in another VAR ‘armpit offside’ and pundit Robbie Savage branded it the worst call ‘in the history of football’.
In October, Ifab said it was ready to green-light concussion substitute trials in January.
And the issue has returned to the spotlight after Raul Jimenez and David Luiz’s horror clash left the Mexican needing surgery on a fractured skull.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
