Sounds like they’re thinking of implementing the “Wenger Rule” i.e instead of the attacker needing to be fully behind the defender to stay onside he can stay onside if he’s all but fully in front of the defender.
The idea is to give more an advantage to the attacker and disallow less goals.
To me it makes absolutely no sense, and I don’t understand how people buy into this kind of rule change not understanding that all it does is move the boundary for offside.
Those people who incessantly complain about “toenail calls” would still be whining with this new rule as an attacker has his heel keeping him onside by a cm.
The other thing I see with it, is it only makes it worse for an attacker to stay onside. Why? Because, with the current rule he can look down the line to time his run perfectly. With the new rule change, you can’t see what’s behind you and where your body is in relation to the defenders, so it’s only going to be more frustrating and luck based at times from the attacker’s perspective.
All in all, I don’t really see the point of this rule change. All it serves to do is move the margin slightly while potentially making things more confusing.
The current rule is perfectly fine. What we really need is automated offsides. We have the same concept when it comes to goal line calls and no one has an issue with the close calls there because they’re called correctly 99.99% of the time, so what’s the issue with having the same for offline calls? Get the technology in now and be done with it.
If the point is to allow more goals, sounds great. I feel bad for defenders, but it wouldn’t be the first time FIFA changes a law in order to make the game more high scoring and entertaining. If the point is to remove controversy when it comes to ‘armpit’ and ‘toe’ offsides, it won’t work. All it will do is move the small margin from the front of the attack to the back of the attack. Until we get semi-automated offsides, we will always have those insanely tight offside calls that some people won’t agree with or be able to swallow.
The purpose of the rule is to score more goals. That’s it.
The knock-on effect will be less high line defending as defenders will find it harder to step up on the offside trap. This in turn will beget more bunker-type defending, which will drive down scoring and make the game more boring as teams pass the ball around the arc over and over and over again.
I fail to see how scoring .0368143 more goals per game is worth it.
Totally agree. My immediate thought was that if this goes through, the style of defending and pressing currently employed will no longer be possible. The game will become much less exciting. No matter where you draw the line, there will still be people moaning about it because it’s a line. I’m a Liverpool supporter and Klopp’s style would be out. Should call it the Allardyce rule.
I’d rather instrument the pitch properly and have an AI rule offside in real time using the current rules. If a fingernail or shoelace is offside, you’re offside. It’s the delay, poor camera placement, and human error that is the problem. In interest of more offense, I’d have some kind of audible or visual alert so players know in real time that they’re in an offside position.
fingernail no, because it’s not a body part that can legally play the ball. Shoelace - maybe??? Would a flapping jersey or shorts that was in an offside position be enough, or does it have to be the player’s body. What about hair??!
Hair? Marc Cucurella would be perpetually offside.
poor camera placement
I mean, they already deploy like 30+ cameras per game. They simply cannot have, for example, like 40 cameras just dedicated to making sure they get every possible offisde angle in every game.
I don’t actually think people understand how expensive the cameras they use, and all the things that are needed to facilitate it for VAR actually are, including the staff to run them (many of which will likely be contractors on like £400-600 a day, depending on seniority and skill, in some cases more). I’m not even sure there is enough operators in the industry to keep up with the demand. I certainly get offers on a regular basis to drag me back into live ops.
People keep making these arguments without a single thought going into how it would actually work and how much it costs. It’s feasibility is really stretching the bounds of reality.
If there is one thing the prem is not short of it’s cash. Your argument holds water for the lower leagues. If players can get 100k+ per week then they can afford 50/60/70+ cameras at the rates you are quoting
I think you need to pick an obvious point, such as the leading foot, and use that as the measuring point. Forget is a players arse or nose is fractionally ahead. Measure attackers forward foot vs defenders. Also need a more accurate measure of when the ball has been struck for said offside. Currently VAR cannot get.mm level accuracy so it shouldn’t be called to make mm decisions.
I’ve always been for simplifying offside to feet. Attacker’s front foot vs defender’s back foot. The whole point of offside was to prevent not only goal hanging but also preventing attackers from getting a head start on runs in behind. To me, it’s all about feet, and while leaning over is conceptually offside, it just seems counter to common sense.
I think feet are the worst way to judge because they are the fastest moving part of the body and there are two of them. An attacker could be onside then offside then onside then offside then onside again before finally being offside as both players running alternates who has a foot furthest forward.
Also, feet are smaller and much harder to see for a linesman who could be 50 metres away, and 0kayers could both be wearing the exact same pair of identical yellow Nike boots which would make it almost impossible.
Nah this rule change is needed
If you support garbage toenail offsides that provide no advantage to the attacker then you’re anti football.
Offsides was meant to stop the cherry picking tactic
I saw some dude make an analysis how teams will be scared to play high lines. That’s not true at all 😂 teams aren’t going to start playing deep. Those toenail offsides weren’t called when VAR wasn’t around and it didn’t change the way teams defended.
no advantage to the attacker then you’re anti football.
Define advantage to the attacker, and then consider why this has never been part of the offside law.
But half the time the defenders would step up making players look miles off to the lino when in reality they could be just on.
And that doesn’t change that play style. If they’re a foot offsides it’s there and if it’s a toenail offsides it’s not
I thought the Wenger rule was, if you don’t see it, it doesn’t count?
The change would decrease the effectiveness of an offside trap
I swear the old rule when I was a kid was benefit of the doubt to the attacker.
So this seems a more refined version of that?
The new rule will be much better. You will see far fewer offsides and therefore far less 6 minute VAR checks to see if someone has gained no advantage by being 1cm offside.
In my opinion, I reckon people are far more often offside under the current rules due to having to time a run to peefection, I’m certain you will see fewer issues with the new rule as an attacking player knows they just need to be roughly level with the defender to not be offside.
Arsene Wenger was an outstanding manager, but most of his rule ideas are absolutely woeful. He wanted to get rid of throw ins too at one point. The new rule will bring even more issues that the current one
Dude is a lunatic in some respects.
aspects*
It’s probably difficult to implement, but it would be nice if having scored with your left foot, you weren’t given offside because of your shoulder.
Just moves the line to a different place
I don’t like rules that make it more difficult to be a ref. This will (probably) work for top levels, but for 7th division and such that don’t even have linesmen, it will be very difficult to ref properly.
It’s difficult enough to see if someone is in front of another from behind across the field, but at least now it’s a yes or no question.
Wenger is a muppet.
Rule will still result in arguing over where the line is drawn.
Only thing that will change is defences won’t play an offside trap and sit deeper.
Were I able to wave a magic wand i’d determine offside by the position of their feet rather than entire body. You could put sensors in the boots or something.