Arsene Wenger wants offside rule to change to restore attackers' advantage: 'Doubt benefits the striker'

Legendary football coach Arsene Wenger wants the offside rule to change in order to restore an advantage for the striker, which has been removed by the introduction of the video assistant referee (VAR).

Former Arsenal boss Wenger, who is also the head of global development at FIFA, said that if any part of an attacker’s body is in line with the last outfield defender, then it should be considered onside and not offside.

Currently, an attacker is flagged offside if any part of the body, apart from hands and arms, is ahead of the last defender.

Wenger wants offside rule to change

Wenger said that such a change was brought in after the 1990 World Cup produced very few goals. However, the change has been compromised by VAR. During the 1990 World Cup, an attacker was considered offside if he was level with the last defender.

“It was in 1990 after the World Cup in Italy when there were no goals scored,” Wenger told Bein Sports. “We decided that there is no offside any more when you are on the same line of the defender.

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“In case of doubt, the doubt benefits the striker. That means when there’s a fraction, the striker did get the advantage.

“With VAR this advantage disappeared and for many people it’s frustrating.”

It has to be noted that the 1990 World Cup had an average of 2.21 goals per match, the lowest among all World Cups.

Wenger also revealed that trials for the new change to the offside rule are currently taking place in Italian youth football and a final decision on the matter will be taken in 2026.

Till 2026, more trials on the rule change will be conducted. These trials were recently approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the law-makers for football.