FIFA president Gianni Infantino hints at rule changes, including Wenger’s offside rule, ahead of 2026 World Cup

Gianni Infantino has overseen several major rule changes in football, a sport traditionally resistant to changing the way the game is played or officiated. With the 2026 World Cup now less than six months away, the FIFA The President has once again hinted at possible changes, including a possible amendment to the offside law that has long been advocated Arsene Wenger.

The year 2025 has served as a testing ground for several innovations in FIFA competitions, including the use of a “green card” to request VAR ratings at the U-20 World Cup and Arab Cup, referee body cameras at the FIFA Club World Cup, and the introduction of the eight-second rule for goalkeepers. Some measures were fully implemented, while others were trialled, but collectively they provided valuable data ahead of the 2026 tournament.

Speaking at the inauguration World sports top in Dubai, Infantino reflected on the evolution of officiating in recent years: “We introduced VAR to make football fairer, to give referees the chance to correct a mistake that millions of people, both at home and in the stadium, may have seen. We are constantly improving VAR with increasingly advanced technology to help referees make the right decision.“

With the aim of “make the game more attacking and attractive,” the FIFA The president acknowledged that a revision of the offside rule could help achieve that goal. “We take into account the offside rule, which has evolved over the years and currently requires the attacker to stand behind the defender, level with him.. Perhaps in the future the attacker would have to be completely in front to be considered offside”, he added.

The offside law has often been a source of discussion in recent seasons former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger emerged as the leading proponent of reform. Now head of global football development at FIFA, Wenger’s proposal has gained new impetus, with Infantino publicly recognizing its growing relevance.

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During the 2022 World Cupmatches regularly had longer injury time to compensate for delays, a measure that later fell out of favor. However, FIFA continues to explore solutions aimed at improving the flow of the game. “We also evaluate measures to prevent wasted time. It is important that the game runs smoothly, so interruptions should be kept to a minimum”, Infantino concluded.

How does Wenger’s offside rule work?

The most important change in the offside law dates from 1925. when the requirement was reduced to two opponents, usually the goalkeeper and one defender, between the attacker and the goal. Since then, the rule has remained largely intact, even as VAR has shifted decision-making from the assistant referee to technology, fueling the ongoing controversy.

Under Wenger’s so-called law, the two-player requirement would remain unchanged, but the interpretation would change dramatically. An attacker would only be offside if his entire body was in front of the penultimate defendermeaning any overlap would keep the player onside.

The current rule, on the other hand, penalizes attackers if a playable body part is in front of the defensive line. If implemented, the new interpretation would favor fast, attacking players and challenge teams that rely on a high defensive linewhile parties that defend more deeply would be much less affected by the change.