Wenger Law and More in The Evolution in Football

Wenger law might be the first of several changes of rules that lead to the evolution in modern football.

Wenger law has been the subject of discussion recently in football. The proposal, which is slated to become the new offside guidelines, was put out by Arsene Wenger, the former notable manager in the Premier League. At the moment, he serves as FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development and closely collaborates with the IFAB (International Football Association Board), which is in charge of overseeing football regulations. No wonder that Le Professeur has been the key figure in the changes recently.

This new offside rule will not likely to be the last one to be introduced in the near future. In fact, there will probably be more to come in relation to the general football regulations on the pitch. 

Wenger Law and More for Better Football

What is Wenger Law?

Wenger law is, as a matter of fact, a term refers to a new offside rule to replace the current one. In this rule, players will not be considered offside if any parts of their body is ahead of the last defender while receiving the ball. The current rule has become the subject of controversy since VAR can determine players offside positions even by very fine margins. Thus, the players from the offensive team will only be caught offside once their entire body is ahead of the last man on the back line. It will definitely make things easier for VAR check and referees.

Consequently, teams which are relying too much on offside traps measured by VAR in their defense will be forced to adapt. There will be more goals in the future. In addition, players whose style of play is similar to Filippo Inzaghi might potentially emerge again. The Italian forward in the late 1990s and 2000s was particularly adept at positioning himself in a constrained onside space.

This rule is set to be assessed before it is officially implemented at the top levels. Sweden will be the first country to have such privilege. It will yet be included in the regulation for the top tier competitions, but rather in the U21 men’s league and U19 women’s league. Italy and the Netherlands will be the next ones to test it. 

What Could be Next? 

Apart from the offside, The Professor seems to be preparing at least three more alterations in relation to the current rules: the throw-in, the corner kick, and the free-kick. 

The throw-in might become a thing of the past. The manager, who once was in charge of J-League side Nagoya Grampus Eight before landing at Highbury, has prepared the kick-in concept to replace it to avoid any lengthy delays from waiting the opposition’s throw-in to resume the game. Such is likely implemented within the last five minutes before the final whistle. The offensive team, should they get the throw-in chance, can kick in instead to immediately start the game or simply kick the ball directly from the touchline into the opponent’s six yard box. 

The next one is about allowing the ball from a corner kick that goes out of play and swings back into the area. Currently, if such occurs, the ball is regarded as being out of play.

Last but not least, the new kind of free-kick could shape the new way of attack. The former Arsenal boss who started off his managerial career in AS Nancy is proposing a free kick which can be done by oneself, meaning that the executor can simply dribble the ball without having to wait for the ball to be passed on to his teammate first or the deflected ball from the opposition side. 

This peculiar free kick rule would enable the team to quickly initiate the attack from the spot. This will definitely lead to a new way of defending too. Most likely, there would probably be more players to help the defense as they would have to be prepared for more than one scenario, the classic free kick and the new one. There might even be a quick one-two pass to create more chaos in the backline. 

Apart from the offside rule, which has been underway, there is yet confirmation when the remaining three revolutionary regulations will be officially introduced. One thing is for sure, though: the game of football is evolving.