VAR: Football lawmakers IFAB yet to discuss offside law changes after overturned decisions
Tuesday 31 December 2019 08:14, UK
Football lawmakers are yet to discuss whether to change the offside law - after more than 20 goals in the Premier League have been ruled out for offside by Video Assistant Referees (VARs) this season.
Lukas Brud, general secretary of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) has moved to clarify his latest comments about offside - and insisted he was not criticising Mike Riley and his officials.
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IFAB is comprised of FIFA and the four British associations, and its members may consider bringing proposals to change the laws of the game before the agenda for its annual general meeting is finalised on February 1.
But talks about any radical changes have yet to take place.
"The IFAB is not currently discussing any amendment related to 'Law 11: Offside' which would change the way it should be applied today," Brud told Sky Sports News.
Lawmakers believe VAR should not be "too forensic" over offside decisions - and should only be used to overturn 'clear and obvious' mistakes.
Brud said: "Offside decisions have become more complex because of VARs. The expectation is now that those factual decisions must be correct all the time. And where video evidence clearly shows a player was in an offside position, then offside must be given.
"But if it is not clear, then the original decision should stand. So, if a VAR believes, after using all tools available to them to identify whether a player was offside, then they should intervene, we should let them do their job. They are the experts."
Brud said IFAB would issue guidance on VAR's use after its AGM on February 29 in Belfast - and he moved to clarify that comments made on Monday were not a criticism of how VAR has been implemented in England's top league.
"My previous comments regarding offside were not, in any way, directed at the way VAR is being used in the Premier League," Brud added. "Nor were my comments directed at Mike Riley.
"What we really need to stress is that 'clear and obvious' applies to every single situation that is being reviewed by the VAR or the referee.
"In theory, 1mm offside is offside, but if a review takes several minutes because the VAR is looking at a dozen of different angles to identify a possible offside situation, then the original decision should stand.
"People are trying to be too forensic. We are not looking to improve decisions, but to get rid of the clear and obvious mistakes. VAR is still developing and we must ensure we learn and adjust where need be."
