Offside and VAR: Is Arsene Wenger’s idea in broad daylight the answer?

After every IFAB meeting, you will find some reference to a discussion about offside.

The IFAB Board was largely unconvinced that, even after all this time, Wenger’s Law had not been presented to associations to trial at senior football level.

This will be the next step. They will not be relegated directly to the World Cup or the English Premier League next season.

Low-level trials were conducted at the Italian Under-18 Championship in 2023, and in youth competitions in the Netherlands.

BBC Sport was told that the results were largely positive, although there were some concerns that there was a significant advantage for the striker.

These are secondary competitions and should be used in real competitions, including those using VAR. The game needs to know how to adjust tactics and properly evaluate the effect.

Trials exist to avoid unintended consequences. Wenger’s Law can result in too many goals, or it can result in too few goals.

There are many examples of failed tests.

In the 2000–01 season, a free kick was taken forward 10 yards if there was a foul. This proved very confusing in leagues that were unfamiliar with rugby, where I grew up.

There is an ABBA shootout from 2017-18. He alternated the order of kicks but confused players and fans.

In the 1987-88 season, the National League – then known as the conference – experimented with an amendment that prevented a player from being offside on a free kick. Defenses packed the six-yard box. The attempt to promote more attacking play led to more defensive tactics.

The same thing can happen on free kicks according to Wenger’s Law. Defenders can have to drop deeper to prevent the striker from gaining space at the back, especially on free kicks.

Wenger’s Law is often visualized as two players running in the middle of the field. But there will be a greater impact and advantage for the striker inside the penalty area.

An alternative suggestion was to use the torso as a reference point for the sneak, ignoring the feet and head. It is unclear how this would work in practice with assistant referees, especially in a crowd of bodies.

If the trials are successful, realistically it will be 2028-2029 before the change is implemented across the game.

Is Wenger’s Law a good idea? Really an impossible question to answer.