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FIFA president Gianni Infantino has spoken in favor of introducing the \u2018daylight\u2019 principle to the offside law to bring extra clarity.<\/p>\nFIFA president Gianni Infantino has spoken in favor of introducing the \u2018daylight\u2019 principle to the offside law to bring extra clarity.<\/p>\n
There has been a great deal of controversy over offsides in the Premier League this season, with a number of goals ruled out by very fine margins after VAR checks.<\/p>\n
FIFA\u2019s chief of global football development Arsene Wenger said last week that the law should be changed so that a player is onside if any part of their body that can score a goal is behind or level with the relevant defender, a view which Infantino clearly shares.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m certainly in favor of discussing a new way of looking at the offside rule, to see if it can help, because I think the issue is more an issue of understanding,\u201d he said as he arrived in Belfast for Saturday\u2019s annual general meeting of the International Football Association Board, the game\u2019s law-making body.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of (the decisions) are very, very close and it\u2019s difficult for the people who are watching to see whether it\u2019s offside, so we have to look at whether we can make the offside rule clearer by having light in between.\u201d<\/p>\n
There can be no change to the offside law at this weekend\u2019s meeting because any alterations would have to go through the proper process and be examined by IFAB\u2019s football and technical advisory panels.<\/p>\n
But the comments clearly indicate the direction of travel on offside as Infantino sees it.<\/p>\n
Asked whether some leeway could be introduced on VAR reviews, he said: \u201cIt doesn\u2019t solve the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if you put a margin of 10 centimeters and then if it\u2019s 11, it\u2019s still one more, if it\u2019s 10 and a half\u2026 so it doesn\u2019t solve it. It should be clear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Infantino agreed when asked whether the debate about offside was one that only seemed to be happening in England.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Italy, in Spain, in Portugal, in Germany this offside discussion is not existing on the VAR,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s not a problem, it\u2019s something to look into. And maybe it shows that actually it\u2019s more a question of the rule and the application of the rule, and application of the VAR itself.\u201d<\/p>\n