Arsene Wenger ‘ready to press ahead with plans to introduce radical amendment to offside rule’ – ex-Arsenal boss ‘eager for football to adopt law change as soon as possible’

Arsene Wenger is reportedly set to move forward with his radical proposal to change the offside rule after positive tries.

The former Arsenal boss, now head of global football development at FIFA, first discussed his idea of ​​introducing the ‘daylight’ principle for offside in 2020.

This would mean that a player is in play if any part of his body capable of scoring a goal is behind or level with the relevant defender. The proposal was backed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who said he was “certainly in favor of a discussion on a new way of looking at the offside rule”.

This led to trials in Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands which, according to the Times, convinced the 74-year-old to move forward with proposing a change to the sport’s legislative body, the International FA Board (IFAB).

Arsène Wenger is reportedly continuing his plan to introduce the daylight principle for offside.

The radical proposal was first introduced by Wenger in 2020 as a way to combat the impact of VAR on offside.

VAR ruled Coventry’s extra-time winner in last month’s FA Cup semi-final against Man United slightly offside and a source close to the PGMOL confirmed to Mail Sport that the decision was correct.

Wenger’s bid has the backing of former Gunners and FA vice-chairman David Dein, who told the outlet that the current rules are “too controversial and problematic”.

Wenger would be willing to pass the new law as quickly, but is likely to face pressure for trials to be carried out at higher levels.

Tight offside calls have continued to enrage football fans this season, perhaps none more so than Coventry’s disallowed goal in the final minutes of their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United.

The call led to discussions about how the lines are drawn when using VAR to judge offsides.

A FIFA spokesperson told The Times: “The discussion around changing the offside law is not new and it is not something we will see introduced imminently at any level. superiors.

“The idea was first discussed in 2020 as we felt it was something worth exploring and testing to see the effect it could have on the game.” committed to testing the amended offside law, favoring the attacker, which has been applied in some youth competitions across Europe.

“We will continue these trials, evaluate the results and discuss with all relevant stakeholders.”

Last month, Premier League clubs voted unanimously to introduce semi-automated offsides, which have been successfully deployed at the World Cup, Champions League and other major national championships.

Wenger defended the use of the system at the 2022 World Cup, where it debuted to great success.

Semi-automatic offside technology will be introduced in a bid to allow officials to make quick decisions and reduce the long waiting times for which VAR has been criticized.

Semi-automated offsides require twelve cameras to be installed under the stadium roof to track 29 player data points, allowing for much more precise measurement of when a pass is played. If a player is offside, the system sends an alert to the VAR referee, who decides whether he is interfering with the game.

The Premier League wants to ensure the technology is reliable and will not confirm whether it will be introduced after the international break in September, October or November.