Fifa to trial Arsene Wenger’s ‘daylight offside’ rule in Canada after failing to gain European support

Fifa’s bid to rewrite the offside law will move from theory to reality this weekend when the Canadian Premier League becomes the first competition to test Arsene Wenger’s so-called “daylight offside” protocol, even after the plan failed to win backing from European authorities.

The concept, personally advanced by Fifa’s chief of global football development and former Arsenal manager, would reverse more than a century of orthodoxy: an attacker would be considered onside if any goal-scoring part of the body is level with the second-last defender. A flag would be raised only when there is visible space—“daylight”—between the attacker and the defender.

The trial, beginning Saturday, is designed to end the microscopic VAR decisions that have seen goals chalked off for armpits, toes and shirt sleeves. Canadian Premier League commissioner James Johnson framed the move as a statement of intent, saying: “This is about positioning the Canadian Premier League at the forefront of innovation and contributing meaningfully to the global evolution of the game.”

Yet the proposal has found little traction among European stakeholders, whose support is critical. For the amendment to reach the statute book it must be endorsed by at least two of the four British national associations that, together with Fifa, form the IFAB panel that meets annually to ratify changes to the Laws of the Game. So far, no federation has offered its vote.

Detractors argue the revision tilts the balance too heavily towards forwards, predicting deeper back lines and a more conservative spectacle. CBS and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher last year branded the idea “terrible for the game,” warning it could encourage negative tactics rather than the attacking flourish its architects intend.

With formal approval stalled, informal compromise is already on the table: an offside would be whistled only if a player’s torso is beyond the defender, a middle ground that could yet salvage parts of Wenger’s vision.

For now, all eyes turn to Canada, where a handful of matches will offer the first live data on whether daylight can truly brighten football’s most contentious law.