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Neil Banerjee

'We got there in the end' - Offside rule undergoes slight change after Swedish third-tier side's long campaign to convince IFAB to review loophole in the law

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has made a change to the offside rule paying heed to a Swedish third-tier side's persistence

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  • Swedish club persistence led to adjustment
  • Offside rule footnote corrected
  • Club elated to bring more clarity to the rule
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  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    In 2023, Torns IF found a loophole in the footnote of the offside rule and took the matter to IFAB. The Swedish side pursued the matter for two years until finally the IFAB clarified the footnote and removed the loophole. The technical director of IFAB, David Elleray, thanked Torns for pursuing this matter and bringing the loophole under the spotlight.

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  • THE BIGGER PICTURE

    According to the footnote of the offside rule, the first point of contact of the 'play' or 'touch' of the ball should be used to determine offside. This meant that if a player were to stay in a position, control the ball firmly between his feet, wait for a forward to make a run, and then make a 'delayed' scoop pass to him, it would not have counted as offside. This is because the first contact was when the player initially controlled the ball. The error was outright visible, which prompted the Swedish team to bring the matter in front of IFAB. The board first dismissed the case, but after constant persuasion they gave in and chose to remove the loophole by clarifying the footnote.

  • DID YOU KNOW?

    Torns' social media account made a video of the loophole and uploaded it to their YouTube handle back in 2023. The video went viral soon, which initially prompted IFAB to look into the case. Although finding the loophole "amusing," the board went on to change the wording after Torns' relentless convincing.

    After IFAB's changes to the rule, Torns' player Tim Nielsen said: "IFAB required some convincing, but we got there in the end."

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    WHAT NEXT FOR IFAB?

    Nielsen was elated to have played a part in bringing a change to the rule stating the board needed convincing but he highlighted that such a change wouldn't have been possible without the increased clarity brought to matches by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). However, VAR has often been cited to cause delay in decision-making for on-field referees as well. The injury to Taiwo Awoniyi of Nottingham Forest is one such incident, and the IFAB will aim to make VAR more efficient in the years to come.