Ex-referee chief Keith Hackett proposes radical change to offside rule whereby players can only be in an illegal position inside the 18-YARD line… and being ‘active’ in a phase of play would also be abandoned
- The offside rule came under fresh scrutiny after Man City’s win over Aston Villa
- Bernardo Silva’s goal was controversial with team-mate Rodri coming back from an offside position in the build-up to City’s opening goal on Wednesday night
- Ex-referee Keith Hackett says players should only be offside inside 18-yard line
- He has proposed a radical change to the laws of the game for elite competitions
Former head of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) Keith Hackett has called for a radical shake-up of the offside rule to deliver more goals at the elite level – with only infringements inside the 18-yard line at risk of being ruled out.
Aston Villa were left incensed on Wednesday when they believed Bernardo Silva’s goal to give Manchester City the lead should have been ruled out for offside.
City’s Rodri was in an offside position when a ball was played over the top of the Villa defence but Tyrone Mings fumbled in possession which played the midfielder onside.
Man City’s Rodri was clearly in an offside position before he stole the ball from Tyrone Mings
Mings then gave the ball away after being put under pressure by the retreating Rodri
Ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett wants to see offside only given between goal and 18-yard line
Villa were incensed but former PGMOL lead Hackett has now revealed his bold plan to overhaul the offside rule to ensure it does not act ‘as an additional player’ on the pitch.
‘We do not want offside to act as a defender, an additional player if you like, on the field of play,’ Hackett wrote in the Telegraph. ‘The game is about goals and we still don’t get enough of them.
‘I want a dynamic change to the law in the Premier League and other elite competitions, one in which offside only applies from the goal-line to the 18-yard line instead of the halfway line – or only applies to the penalty area itself.’
Fans have been left furious this season after seeing multiple controversial VAR decisions made
Currently, a player beyond the last line of defence anywhere in the opposition’s half is to be ruled as offside as per the FA’s laws of the game.
Play can also be pulled up for offside if a player is deemed to be in an offside position and still playing an ‘active’ role in the attack.
Often players in offside positions may be adjudged to be obstructing defenders or blocking the eye-line of a goalkeeper. But for Hackett, this is another area of the laws he believes needs to be given a refresh.
‘I would also scrap the “active” element of the law at that level to make it clear to attackers that while they would be able to hover on the edge of the box, they could not do the same in the area,’ he added.
‘I would have a set of laws for grassroots football and a set of laws for elite football.’
Events at City showed there was a great deal of confusion on the laws of the game and Hackett’s radical proposal is aiming to add clarity.
Hackett says there are not enough goals and a radical change would improve the spectacle
It took a deep dive into the laws of the game on Wednesday at City to discover that, due to Mings’ attempt to deliberately play the ball, the phase of play reset and Rodri was brought onside.
Mings took to social media on Wednesday evening to express his anger at the ruling – and labelled it as ‘nonsense’.
He wrote on Twitter: ‘Never even heard of that rule, just let players stand offside, then run back and tackle you? In hindsight I should’ve cleared it, 100 per cent, but didn’t even know that was the case. Nonsense.’
Pep Guardiola sensationally admitted his own confusion over the rule after the game.
When questioned whether he would have also been upset if the goal had been given against his team, Guardiola replied: ‘Yeah. There is VAR here no? So, I don’t know the rule or the situation but they analysed it.’
