Assistant referees need more scope to use their common sense as opposed to simply relying on VAR
It was an accident waiting to happen. Anyone with an ounce of common sense could see the potential for the International Football Association Board’s offside protocols in the era of the video assistant referee (VAR) system to cause serious injury. Needless collisions are inexcusable. It should not have been allowed to reach the point where we are wondering whether Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi being placed in an induced coma will act as a red flag for the authorities.
Injuries happen. What is not acceptable is the safety of players being compromised as a result of technology warping the game and officials being instructed not to flag for offside if a goalscoring opportunity is on the cards. Thankfully, he was reported to have woken from his coma on Wednesday evening.
Written by Jacob Steinberg
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/may/14/awoniyis-injury-should-lead-to-a-rethink-over-flawed-offside-protocol under the title “Awoniyi’s injury should lead to a rethink over flawed offside protocol | Jacob Steinberg”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
