Arsene Wenger's proposed "daylight" offside trial faces an uncertain future and is unlikely to be extended after failing to secure sufficient backing at the International Football Association Board's (Ifab) assessment panels on Tuesday. The experimental rule, which adjudicates an attacker to be onside as long as any part of their body is level with the second-last opponent, had been tested throughout the year in the Canadian Premier League (CPL).
The regular CPL campaign concluded on Sunday with mixed outcomes after 112 fixtures. The Ifab's football and technical panels, comprised of former players, coaches, and referees, learned that the experiment triggered a 54% decrease in offside decisions and led to 13 additional goals. However, the trial also prompted defensive lines to retreat by three metres over the season, with the most significant disruption seen on set-pieces as defences tried to compensate for the attacking advantage. The CPL also utilized Football Video Support—a version of VAR enabling managers to challenge decisions twice per game—which helped temper the trial's overall impact in a way most other competitions could not replicate.
Beyond the offside debate, Ifab panellists showed support for restructuring the coin toss protocol prior to penalty shootouts. At present, separate calls dictate the venue end and which team strikes first, allowing one side to gain both advantages. The proposed amendment would grant the toss-winning captain the choice of either the end or the opening kick, leaving the opposing skipper to decide the remaining factor automatically. Conversely, there was little appetite to broaden the five-second countdown used for throw-ins and goal-kicks into corner and free-kick situations, while a separate recommendation suggested that players claiming a penalty-area head injury who recover quickly upon play being halted should be spared a mandatory one-minute spell off the pitch.
Discussions also addressed the goalkeeper injury measure currently implemented in English football to eliminate tactical timeouts, under which an outfield player must temporarily leave the pitch while a keeper receives medical care. Viewed as a success so far, the protocol has been utilized just twice across 80 Premier League matches. Tuesday's technical panel sessions represent the initial step toward potential rule updates for the 2027-28 campaign, though the sport's lawmakers remain cautious about implementing an influx of new regulations following extensive summer adjustments leading into the World Cup.