‘It is not up for approval… it’s impossible’: IFAB chief Lukas Brud REJECTS Arsene Wenger’s plans to change offside law and end VAR chaos before Euro 2020
- Arsene Wenger’s plans to change the offside law in bid to end VAR controversy
- His major overhaul of the law will re-balance the game in favour of the attacker
- IFAB’s Lukas Brud revealed Wenger’s proposed overhaul of law is not an option
The chief of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) has responded to Arsene Wenger’s plans to change the offside law in a bid to end VAR controversy.
The former Arsenal boss wants a player to be deemed onside if any part of the body which can legitimately score a goal is level or behind the last defender — even if other parts of their body are between the last defender and the goal.
But IFAB’s Lukas Brud has revealed that Wenger’s proposed major overhaul of the law is not an option and the offside rule will remain the same.
IFAB’s Lukas Brud revealed Arsene Wenger’s proposed overhaul of offside law is not an option
Chelsea had a goal ruled out against Manchester United as Olivier Giroud was a foot offside
Under Arsene Wenger’s proposals Giroud’s disallowed goal against United would have stood
‘It is not up for approval to come into the Laws of the Game,’ he told ESPN.
‘I’m not judging the proposal, it might be a good one, but this is not up for approval or for a vote as a concrete proposal to go into the Laws of the Game, it’s impossible.
‘Arsene Wenger is a highly knowledgeable and experienced football expert, so we certainly welcome his ideas, but we haven’t discussed it yet and we simply cannot approve anything that was not discussed on any level so far.’
Arsene Wenger wants to change the offside law for next season and end the VAR farce
The current rule states a player is in an offside position if: Any part of the head, body or feet is in the opponents’ half (excluding the halfway line) and any part of the head, body or feet is nearer to the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent.
The former Arsenal boss had planned to push through the change this month in his role as FIFA’s head of global development.
He told The Sun: ‘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.
‘That will sort it out and you will no longer have decisions about millimetres and a fraction of the attacker being in front of the defensive line.’
Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino was adjudged to be offside by just an armpit earlier this season