On January 17, Beijing time, according to the British "Sun" newspaper, the controversy in the Manchester derby may lead to further modification of the offside rule by IFAB.
Manchester United reversed Manchester City 2-1 in the Manchester City derby, but the equalizer scored at first, and the linesman signaled that Rashford was offside at first, but referee Atwell eventually changed the decision and found the goal valid, which also caused great dissatisfaction among Manchester City players and Pep Guardiola.
So is Rashford offside exactly? Even experts disagree and have very different opinions. Some people think that Rashford did not touch the ball and did not interfere with the opponent, while others believe that he had the intention to touch the ball and shoot, but actually interfered with the Manchester City defender's pursuit and Edson's save.
The Sun pointed out that there is indeed a lot of room for vague discussion about the rules of offside, and the lack of universality and consistency in the scale of penalties in different countries and different competitions has put great pressure on the International Football Association Council (IFAB), which is responsible for formulating and revising football rules.
IFAB will meet at Wembley on Wednesday and a general meeting in March, when formal rule changes for next season will be agreed. According to an IFAB insider, offside is indeed a "grey area that needs to be addressed", starting with clarity on the so-called "deliberate" defense guidelines, and then with more concrete examples of what exactly is blocking or trying to intercept – and not intentionally.