Wenger 'to press on with plans to introduce radical amendment to offside rule'

Arsene Wenger is reportedly set to move forward with his radical proposal to amend the offside rule after positive trials.

The former Arsenal boss, now FIFA's chief of global football development, first discussed his idea to introduce the 'daylight' principle to offsides in 2020.

This would mean that a player is onside if any part of their body that can score a goal is behind or level with the relevant defender. The proposition was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino who said he was 'certainly in favour of discussing a new way of looking at the offside rule.'

This led to trials in Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands, which, according The Times, have convinced the 74-year-old to press ahead with proposing a change to the sport's law-making body, the International FA Board (IFAB).

Wenger's bid has the backing of former Gunners and FA vice-chairman David Dein, who told the outlet that the current rules are 'too contentious and problematic'.

Wenger is reportedly keen to adopt the new law as swiftly but it likely to face pressure for trials at more senior levels.

Tight offside calls have continued to enrage football fans this season, perhaps none more so than Coventry's disallowed goal in the closing minutes of their FA Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester United.

The call led to discussions on how the lines are drawn when using VAR to judge offsides.

A FIFA spokesman told The Times: 'The discussion around changing the offside law is not new and it is not something we will see introduced at higher levels imminently.

'The idea was first discussed in 2020 as we felt it was something worth exploring and testing to see the effect it could have on the game. Fifa committed to trialling the amended offside law, favouring the attacker, which has been applied in selected youth competitions across Europe.

'We will continue with these trials, assess the results and discuss with all relevant stakeholders.'

Last month, Premier League clubs voted unanimously to introduce semi-automated offsides, which has been deployed successfully in the World Cup, Champions League and other major domestic leagues.

Wenger championed the system's use at the 2022 World Cup, where it debuted to great success.

Semi-automated offsides require twelve cameras are installed under the stadium roof to track 29 data points on the players, allowing a much more accurate measure of when a pass is played. If a player is offside, the system sends an alert to the VAR official, who decides if they are interfering with play.

The Premier League wants to be sure the technology is reliable and will not confirm if it will be introduced after the September, October or November international break.