The Premier League are set to use thicker lines for offside calls from next season in order to avoid the setbacks caused by fine margins. Under the laws of the game, football’s lawmakers, known as the International Football Association Board (IFAB), do not establish a maximum line thickness. It is believed that the alteration will aid the attacking team.
Throughout the 2020/21 Premier League season, VAR was a hot topic of discussion. Multiple supporters saw the technology’s frequent intrusions as a hindrance, particularly when it came to offside calls. On several occasions, goals were disallowed after the game being halted for prolonged periods. This effectively amassed a lot of tension from the fans against the induction of VAR into the game.
Throughout the campaign, the indignation from fans and players alike on the subject was sufficient reason owing to which modifications to VAR’s application are required.
Martyn Ziegler broke the story regarding the big alteration. He tweeted, “Big news from PL annual meeting; there will be thicker offside VAR lines next season to end the hugely unpopular marginal offsides. The idea is to have a greater margin of error for offsides, giving the benefit of the doubt back to the attacker.”
If a player is deemed to be in an offside position with a miniscule margin of error, it will no longer be penalized, like it was under the previous VAR check routine. This modification is expected to induce a certain amount of harmony and settlement among all fans of the sport.
Both UEFA and the Dutch League are already using the system that will be in place for the 2021-22 Premier League season. The addition of this new clause also implies that viewers of a television broadcast will no longer be able to observe VAR officials draw the lines, but only the final verdict.
