New Offside Rule Will Make Goal Scoring Tougher This Season
The new rule means a player in an offside position will be penalised if he moves towards a shot or a pass or if he intends to touch the ball. It was not the case earlier.
Goal scoring could become tougher in the upcoming football season as a new offside rule introduced by FIFA is expected to make coaches and strikers sweat. According to the new rule, if the player has a shot at goal and a team-mate, who is in the offside position, makes a play for the ball, the goal will be disallowed even if the player has not touched it. (Lionel Messi's 'Magic Goal' shows why Football is an Art)
In a report in the Daily Mail, the guidelines have been passed down to all officials at all levels and it states that a player in an offside position will be penalised if he makes an obvious action that impacts the ability of the opponent to play the ball. The rule will take effect from the start of the 2015-16 season. (Is Cristiano Ronaldo the Greatest Footballer Ever?)
This new rule means a player in an offside position will be penalised if he moves towards a shot or a pass or if he intends to touch the ball. Earlier, a player in an offside position would not have been penalised and he would have been allowed to touch the ball. (Torres Off-side Goal seals Chelsea Comeback)
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The Italian League (Serie A) saw 1024 goals being scored in the 2014-15 season. It means every game saw an average of 2.72 goals. The English Premier League (EPL) and the Spanish League (La Liga) saw 975 and 1009 goals, respectively. On an average, every game produced close to three goals. It will be interesting to see how the teams cope with the new off-side rule.
The change in the offside rule comes in the wake of an incident in the match between Manchester United and Stoke City at Old Trafford in February 2015. Marcus Rojo, who was in an offside position, attempted to head the cross from Juan Mata's free kick but he missed it. However, nobody else made contact and the ball went straight into the net. The goal was allowed to stand. Under the new rules, this goal would not have been allowed.
According to FIFA officials, they believe this new rule will simplify the situation and will dissuade players to not linger in an offside position. They pointed out that the goal would be allowed to stand if the player consciously steps out of the way of the ball to allow progress of play.
An example of this was seen in the game between Tottenham Hotspurs and Burnley in December 2014. Christian Eriksen was offside but he stepped out wide to a Spurs free-kick by Harry Kane. Another Spurs player ran towards the ball and crossed it to Kane who headed the goal. The goal was awarded and in the new rules, it would still be allowed.
VITAL STATS
1. Total Number of goals scored by Top 5 European Leagues in 2014/15
Serie A- 1024 (2.72)
La Liga- 1009 (2.66)
EPL- 975 (2.57)
Ligue1- 947 (2.49)
Bundesliga- 814 (2.66)
2. Most goals scored by players in Serie A
Luca Toni (22)
Mauro Icardi (22)
Carlos Tevez (20)
Gonzalo Higuain (18)
3. 289 goals by the top four teams in the EPL.
Sergio Aguero scored 26 goals for Manchester City while Harry Kane scored 21 goals for Tottenham Hotspur. Diego Costa came in third with 20 goals for Chelsea.
4. 365 goals by the top four teams in the La Liga
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo scored 48 goals in the previous season while Lionel Messi of Barcelona scored 43 goals