Mbappé’s goal against Spain in the Nations League final is immovable. Nothing can be done now to reverse that decision, but the controversy generated may have consequences for the future of football. UEFA, as AS has learned, has decided that it will study changes to the offside rule that validated the goal of the PSG striker and that, in the end, meant the triumph of France.
UEFA’s chief refereeing officer, Roberto Rosetti, considers that “Anthony Taylor made a correct decision based on the existing Law and its official interpretation “, since” the player deliberately stepped in to play the ball and the opponent did not interfere in the game ”.
The current interpretation of the Law seems to be in conflict with the spirit of the Law itself.
Roberto Rosetti, UEFA Director of Refereeing
Even so, Rosetti admits that “this case shows that the current interpretation of the Law appears to be in conflict with the spirit of the Law itself., which is to prevent any player from taking advantage of his offside position “. Therefore, he announces that”UEFA’s position is that there are ways to improve the wording to bring it into line with the purpose of the Offside Law and the spirit of the game“.
“I have already contacted my colleagues from FIFA and IFAB and will discuss solutions at the next meeting of the IFAB Technical Advisory Panel“, sentence.
On October 27 all the IFAB panels meet (Rosetti, from UEFA, is part of one) and they are going to review various regulations. The one with the offside, hands again and also the obligation for goalkeepers to have one foot on the line when taking a penalty. The final decision on whether to change it or not will be in March. What’s more they will debate again whether to keep the five changes or to return to three. And approve or not a minimalist ‘light’ VAR. Which is for poorer competitions or with less economic power, such as women’s football in Spain.