Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Taylor McKee, Assistant Professor, Sport Management, Brock University
After years of controversy over marginal offside decisions and the growing influence of video assistant referees, FIFA is now testing a potential alternative.
Starting in April 2026, the Canadian Premier League will serve as a testing ground for FIFA’s proposed “daylight offside” rule — a change championed by Arsène Wenger in his role as the organization’s chief of global development.
FIFA and the International Football Association Board typically test law changes in lower-profile competitions before considering wider adoption.
Read more:
Explainer: the offside rule
Under the proposal, an attacker is only offside if their entire body is completely ahead of the second-to-last defender. If any playable part of the attacker remains level with the defender, they are considered onside, effectively requiring visible “daylight” between the two players for a flag to be raised.
The CPL is not driving the change itself, but rather acting as a trial competition for a rule that could be adopted more widely if it proves successful.
A rule under strain
The rules governing English soccer, known as the “Laws of the Game,” are set by the International Football Association Board and were first codified in 1863, including an early version of the offside rule. Since then, there has only been two major changes, in 1925 and 1990.
That relative stability changed in the 2010s with the introduction of the video assistant referee (VAR). For the first time, an additional referee, not located on the pitch, was endowed with the authority to review and overturn decisions on goals, penalties and red cards.
Offside has become one of VAR’s most scrutinized uses, with decisions often determined using calibrated lines and multiple camera angles to identify the exact position of players at the moment the ball is played.
The impact has been significant. In the Premier League alone, 34 goals were nullified for being offside last season.
Precision versus perception
The subjectivity of the offside rule has been a topic of debate among fans since its inception.
VAR was introduced to promote transparency from referees and counter claims of unfairness, but it has arguably produced even more controversies.
Resistance to VAR has been steadily increasing in academic and public circles, leading to calls for change. Some research suggests that the offside rule is not only difficult to enforce but “systematically vulnerable to perceptual error.”
Especially in the face of major tournaments and high-pressure matches, tensions towards VAR and the offside rule have been heightened to an even greater level. The consequences of this can be seen within fan engagement and across social media.
The ‘offside trap’
For decades, the “offside trap” was a defender’s best friend. By stepping forward in unison, defenders could catch strikers out by a matter of inches, effectively killing an attack before it even started.
This allowed teams to play a “high line,” pushing the action far away from their own goal. Wenger’s proposal essentially breaks that trap, as strikers can now be almost a full body length ahead of the defence and still be onside.
If a defender tries to catch a striker offside and fails, they are left in a foot race they’ve already lost by two metres. As a result, we expect what some have described as the “death of the high line.”
In response, teams may shift toward a “low block,” sitting much deeper and closer to their own goalkeeper. By “parking the bus” and removing the open grass behind them, defenders can negate the striker’s new head start.
The game may become higher scoring, but it will also force a more cautious, safety-first style of defending.
More clarity, or more controversy?
If the daylight rule is seen to improve clarity, increase attacking play or reduce controversy, it could be introduced more broadly in the coming years. If not, it may merely remain an experimental footnote.
However, the daylight rule is unlikely to resolve existing concerns about VAR. If anything, it may extend ongoing debates about consistency and legitimacy in offside decisions.
Questions will remain about how “daylight” is judged in practice, particularly in fast-moving situations or when bodies overlap at angles.
Pundits, journalists and professional soccer players will continue to assess whether this rule simplifies “the beautiful game” or hinders it. Public reaction on social media is also likely to remain mixed, and any discussions will shape collective views on the rule’s effectiveness.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of this new rule may come down to the subjectivity of referees. Soccer and offside calls will always come down to the mere millimetre, no matter how substantially the gap is widened.
A moment of opportunity for Canada
Beyond the technical change, the trial could matter a lot for how the CPL is regarded more broadly. It gives the Canadian league a chance to be part of an international conversation in a way smaller leagues rarely get the opportunity to do.
That alone could raise the CPL’s visibility and make Canadian domestic soccer more relevant in discussions about where the global game is headed.
In that sense, the bigger implication is about whether the CPL can use this moment to strengthen its place in the wider football world. For a league that’s still building its international profile, that kind of attention could matter just as much as what happens on the pitch.
This article was co-authored by Wai Leung, Gaetane Slootweg Allepuz and Agrim Gautam, undergraduate students at Brock University and members of the Brock University Centre for Sport Capacity Soccer Working Group.
Taylor McKee receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Michael Van Bussel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Canada becomes testing ground for FIFA’s proposed ‘daylight’ offside rule – https://theconversation.com/canada-becomes-testing-ground-for-fifas-proposed-daylight-offside-rule-278374