Football’s rule keepers are discussing a drastic change to the offside rule – but this is unlikely to come to the 2026 World Cup. Other suggestions, however, have a good chance of taking part in the tournament in the summer.
The regulators will meet on Tuesday (January 20, 2026). International Football Association Board (IFAB) to a meeting in a hotel at London’s Heathrow Airport. At least as a point of discussion, the offside rule should also be discussed. FIFA director of football Arsène Wenger has been pushing for change for years.
The idea in principle: An attacker should only be offside when he is completely in front of the penultimate opponent.
The discussion about the “daylight” offside – there should be a gap between defender and attacker, i.e. “daylight” – began in 2020. The coronavirus pandemic postponed the suggestion, but now it is at least being pursued more seriously again. The goal is football “more offensive and attractive” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in December when asked about the possible rule change.
Germany’s David Raum – when should an attacker be offside?
The arguments for and against
The arguments for the change:
- Thanks to the video assistant, very close offside decisions are becoming more frequent. A kneecap or a toe results in an offside position, although the attacker has little advantage. In practice, the same height has increasingly become an offside position.
- A more attractive game is hope. If the attackers have more leeway when it comes to offside issues, fewer offensive actions and goals may have to be whistled or taken back.
An offside situation in the Bundesliga in the game between Mönchengladbach and Leipzig
The arguments against the change:
- Close decisions still remain. What are now tips of toes and kneecaps could then become heels or buttocks – the line has to be drawn somewhere.
- The change for the referees and especially the assistants would be huge – especially in the amateur area, to which a new regulation would also apply.
- A more defensive game could be the result. If attackers are harder to catch offside, teams may be tempted to stand deeper and play more defensively. The good intention of making the game more attractive would be reversed.
There are also modified versions of the proposal in which only the torso of the player should be decisive when it comes to offside, i.e. the upper body with the exception of the head and arms.
The IFAB
The rules of football are not set by FIFA, but traditionally by the IFAB, founded in 1886. But FIFA has a big say there. Four of the eight voting members at the crucial general meeting come from FIFA, the other four votes are held by the four British associations from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In order to implement a rule change, a three-quarters majority is required at the general meeting. So FIFA can’t implement anything without the British, and it doesn’t work the other way around either. In most cases, however, agreement is reached in advance anyway.
Change for the 2026 World Cup at least unlikely
The idea is particularly popular in FIFA. FIFA has a lot of influence in the IFAB – it cannot be ruled out that it will push for a quick change as early as the 2026 World Cup. No change can be decided at the meeting on Tuesday, only a proposal can be decided on at the decisive general meeting of the IFAB at the end of February. But there is much that speaks against rapid implementation.
On the one hand, offside is the most important rule in football. The game is tactically based on this; every change has fundamental effects that the teams first have to adjust to. This became apparent in 1990. At that time, before the World Cup in Italy, it was decided that the same height was no longer offside. What followed was the lowest-scoring World Cup in history.
A lot of defense at the 1990 World Cup – here in the semi-final England against Germany
On the other hand, the World Cup is already taking place this summer. The players, the coaches, the referees, the video assistants, including their ever-developing semi-automatic offside technology, would have to manage the change at the most important football tournament without much preparation. It would be a World Cup with a new type of football that no one really knew what it looked like.
Such a change should ideally be tested thoroughly before being introduced. There is little time for that before the World Cup. And there have only been a few tests so far. According to information from the sports show, there was positive but also negative feedback.
What will probably come to the World Cup: More VAR and countdowns
Other suggestions, however, have a good chance of being implemented at the World Cup:
Bundesliga referee Tobias Reichel
Topic for the future: time limit for substitutions
A test in the USA is currently generating another idea on the subject of time play. In the Major League Soccer In a test procedure, a substitution had to be made within ten seconds. If this is not the case, the substitute player has to wait on the sidelines for one minute.
The test received a lot of positive feedback. It is possible that the procedure in principle – for example with a different time frame – could be considered for a rule change.
