SHOCK CHANGES IN FOOTBALL! Offside Rule and Champions League Format Are Changing!

Trivia

The time has come for a new change in football rules. This time, it's about the offside rule. Moreover, there might also be a (new) change in the Champions League competition system.

UEFA General Secretary Giorgio Marchetti spoke about this.

Speaking first about the positive aspects of the elite European club competition, he emphasized that "the excitement is now greater" because teams (instead of facing only three opponents in the group stage) now had to face a larger number of rivals in the initial phase of the Champions League. Let us remind you, each participant played eight matches.

The drama around who advances to the knockout phase also increased – key matches were played until January and February, which was not the case before, as the top two clubs would quickly separate in four-team groups.

According to Marchetti, "the obvious downside for teams was that they now had to play more matches." Fans enjoy it, but in an already packed competition calendar, the new format meant even greater physical exhaustion for players.

However, the UEFA General Secretary stated that the European football governing body is "very satisfied" with how the changes turned out, but announced that this is not the end:

- We wanted to make the format more exciting and unpredictable. The entire group stage was interesting, practically without any boring matches. Then we also saw some incredible clashes in the knockout stage, like Inter's matches against Barcelona.

Marchetti made it clear that "the format is not temporary."

- It was designed not to be time-limited. This will be the format of football's future - he said, adding that "although the new system added unpredictability, we will discuss some minor detail changes with the clubs."

He then commented that "VAR is fundamental," thus dismissing some arbitrary announcements that it would be abolished.

- It is very important, but it must be handled with extreme care. Simply, to avoid turning the game into something fans don't want to see.

Marchetti noted "that we have reached a point where, due to a millimeter determined by technology," football can sometimes suffer.

He revealed that "IFAB and FIFA are testing a possible drastic change so that offside is no longer based on such a small part of the body."

- Disallowing a goal for three centimeters is tiresome for the spirit of the game. So, let's see if this will change in the near future...

But if the changes in the Champions League will be "minor," what exactly are the planned changes regarding offside?

Well, drastic ones.

What is Offside Anyway?

For those who always found this term confusing, perhaps the simplest explanation (although not exactly a paraphrase of the FIFA Laws of the Game, but a very simplified version) is that an attacker must not be behind the defense when a teammate passes the ball to him, as this is considered gaining an unfair advantage over defenders. In other team sports with goals (like handball, basketball), you can stay alone on the opponent's side of the court and score when your team passes you the ball. But in football, you must not be behind the defense when the ball is played towards you.

Alright, maybe this isn't the perfect explanation for those who don't know what offside is, but we believe it's simpler than the official FIFA wording, which starts like this (we'll cite just two or three paragraphs):

"1. Offside Position"

Being in an offside position is not an offense by itself. A player is in an offside position when: any part of the head, body, or feet is in the opponent’s half of the field (excluding the halfway line) and any part of the head, body, or feet is closer to the opponent’s goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. The hands and arms of all players, including goalkeepers, are not considered. For offside purposes, the upper boundary of the arm is in line with the bottom of the armpit.

A player is not in an offside position if level with: the second-last opponent or the last two opponents.

2. Offside

A player in an offside position is penalized at the moment the ball is played or touched by a teammate if they become involved in active play by:

interfering with play by playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a teammate;
interfering with an opponent by:
preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision;
challenging an opponent for the ball;
clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts an opponent;
making an obvious action which clearly impacts the ability of an opponent to play the ball;
gaining an advantage by playing the ball or interfering with an opponent when the ball has:
rebounded or been deflected off the goalpost, crossbar, match official, or an opponent;
been deliberately played by an opponent, including deliberate handball, unless it was a deliberate save.

This is just the introductory part of the rules.

It seems a bit more complicated than our initial sentence, right? But it has to be so that referees know exactly when to stop an attacking action due to offside, maybe even disallow a goal.

The most important thing in all this is, of course, who is closest to the goalkeeper when the ball is played towards the attacker. If it’s the attacker, the play stops. If it’s a defender, the play continues and what the attacker does next with the ball is up to him.

Arsène Wenger, the legendary French coach best known for his time with Arsenal, is now FIFA’s "Chief of Football Development" and has proposed a revolutionary rule change.

He explained that "in 1990, the rule was changed (before that, an attacker couldn’t even be level with the last defender), and it was then allowed for both to be in line when the ball was played." However, with the introduction of VAR, many goals are now disallowed because of millimeter advantages by attackers – for example, if a toe, knee tip, or nose is closer to the goal than the last defender.

Wenger announced the following:

- That’s why I proposed a rule change: as long as any part of an attacker’s body is in line with the defender, it’s no longer offside. Within a year, IFAB will confirm this decision.

So, until 1990, an attacker couldn’t be in line with the last defender. Since then, they can be level. And according to the new "Wenger Rule," an attacker could even be a step closer to the goalkeeper than the last defender, but if, for example, his heel is in line with the defender, it’s not offside.

In the current rules, the attacker in red is offside because part of his body is behind the last defender, but under the new rules, he wouldn’t be offside as a larger part of his body is in line with the defender.

All of this – to increase the number of goals.

So, what do you think about that?

But that’s not all...

Some new rules are already in effect, while others are "just about to come."

Let’s first recall that the International Football Association Board, known as IFAB – which Wenger mentioned – is the international body that determines football rules. They have introduced several new ones.

In a recent statement, they said, among other things:

"IFAB has approved a series of changes to the Laws of the Game for the 2025/2026 season.

After trials showed a significant positive impact of the proposed rule change regarding goalkeepers holding the ball too long, IFAB unanimously decided to amend Article 12.2 (Indirect Free Kick).

The amendment states that if the goalkeeper holds the ball for more than eight seconds (with the referee using a visual five-second countdown), the referee will award a corner kick to the opposing team (instead of the current indirect free kick for holding the ball for more than six seconds)."

Thus, if the goalkeeper holds the ball longer than allowed, the opponents will take a corner kick.

And since this will be applied from the new season, it wasn’t necessary to wait for autumn (when new championships start in our region). This rule was already applied – in Brazil.

There, new season battles begin in the spring, and this new rule was seen in action at the end of the match between Paysandu and Atlético.

Namely, Atlético goalkeeper Mikel held the ball in his hands for 13 seconds, and referee Jefferson Ferreira de Moraes awarded a corner kick to Paysandu.