The "Wenger Law" is applied to offside for the first time
The offside rule proposed by French coach Arsène Wenger was officially applied for the first time in football history on Saturday, allowing a goal to be counted during a match in the Canadian Premier League. Alejandro Diaz's opening goal for Pacific FC against Halifax Wanderers was credited despite the striker being slightly ahead of the second-last defender, meaning it would have been disallowed under the standard offside law. The amendment to the offside law, proposed by the former Arsenal manager and FIFA's head of global football development, means that as long as there is no clear visible gap between the attacker and the last defender, the attacking player will be in a legal, not offside, position. An attacking player is considered to be in a safe position as long as any part of his body that can be used to score—excluding the hands and arms—is aligned with, or behind, the second-last defender. This rule was designed to encourage attacking play and "enhance the flow of matches," according to FIFA. The rule change was piloted at the start of the 2026 Canadian Premier League season this month, in cooperation with FIFA and the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body responsible for setting the rules of football. During the third weekend of games in the Canadian Premier League, the law was seen in action for the first time in the 20th minute of Saturday's 2-2 draw at Wanderers Grounds. Following a corner kick, Wanderers goalkeeper Marco Carducci made a save from a direct shot by Pacific midfielder Matthew Baldissimo. Diaz caught the rebound and scored from close range, with several Wanderers players claiming offside. Diaz was ahead of Lorenzo Caligari, the second-last defender whose position is used to measure offside, meaning he would have been ruled offside under the current offside rule, but because there was no visible gap between the players, Diaz was deemed to be in a position of law under the revised Canadian Premier League rule. Wenger's proposal for an offside rule was first introduced in 2020. The current rule states that if any part of an attacker's body can be used to score past the second-last player, then this is considered offside. The offside rule has come under particular scrutiny following the introduction of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology and semi-automated offside situations, where goals are sometimes disallowed for the smallest infractions and when it is doubtful whether the attacking player gained an advantage. Canadian Premier League Commissioner James Johnson said of the experiment when it was announced on March 31: “This is about putting the Canadian Premier League at the forefront of innovation and making a meaningful contribution to the global evolution of the game. Working closely with FIFA and IFAB, we are proud to play a part in shaping the future of football, while continuing to build a competition that reflects our ambition here in Canada.”
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