First ‘Daylight’ Offside Goal Scored In Canadian League

The first goal allowed under the experimental “daylight” offside rule was scored in Canada on Saturday, with Pacific FC forward Alejandro Diaz on ⁠target in a 2-2 draw with Halifax Wanderers., external

The strike would have been ruled out elsewhere under the standard International Football Association ⁠Board (Ifab) Laws of the Game, but ⁠stood under the Canadian Premier League’s ongoing trial conducted in cooperation with FIFA.

The daylight interpretation of offside means there should be a complete gap between the attacker and the second-to-last opposition player – effectively the last defender, given the goalkeeper’s usual positioning.

The CPL ⁠is testing the rule this season as part of ⁠efforts to reduce ‌marginal offside decisions and encourage attacking play.

The concept, long advocated by former Arsenal manager ⁠Arsene Wenger in his role as FIFA’s head of global football development, is being assessed in Canada as a potential change to the offside law.

But critics have suggested that daylight offside will give too much advantage to the attacking team.

The CPL – which does not have video assistant referees (VAR) – is the first top-flight league to try out this new offside rule, with low-level trials held in Italy’s Under-18 Championship in 2023 and in youth competitions in the Netherlands.

Results of the trials will be presented to Ifab at the end of year. If successful, there is the potential for the law to change across the world for the 2027-28 European season.

Offside has only had two major changes since 1863 when the laws were written – in 1925 and again in 1990