Arsène Wenger offside law to be trialled in Canadian Premier League from 4 April | OneFootball

FIFA confirmed that the Canadian Premier League will trial Arsène Wenger’s offside law from 4 April, when the new season begins.

Developed by FIFA’s chief of global football development, Wenger proposes that attackers are not offside unless there is visible space, or daylight, between them and the last defender.

The CPL, working with FIFA and with IFAB approval, will be the first professional league to implement the interpretation, which is intended to favour attacking play and improve clarity and flow. It has previously been used only in youth football.

Under the CPL trial, an attacker is onside as long as any goal-scoring part of the body, excluding hands and arms, is level with or behind the second-last defender. Offside will apply only when there is daylight between attacker and defender.

Alongside the offside trial, the CPL will introduce Football Video Support (FVS), a replay system triggered by head coaches handing a review card to the fourth official. Unlike VAR, it uses no dedicated video match officials and does not initiate checks automatically.

Coaches will have a limited number of challenges for potential match-changing incidents, including goal decisions, penalties, direct red cards and mistaken identity. The card must be presented immediately after the incident to avoid unnecessary delay.

Forge host Ottawa at home in the season opener.

Source: L'Équipe