Offside VAR changes concept to privilege attack in Brasileirão

In the 1990s, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) published a recommendation for referees around the world. In cases of doubt in the offside call, the play should continue. The orientation was aimed at privileging the attack and the goals.

The 2023 Brazilian Championship starts this Saturday (15) with the intention that this concept be resumed, now with the help of VAR. The lines placed electronically to verify that the attacker’s position is legal, a reason for disagreement since the implementation of the system in 2018, now have a criterion that favors offensiveness.

“Every time the lines (of the last defender and the attacker) overlap, they become blue and help the attack. If they are in parallel, they are red (to signal the offside). moment when the player touches the ball”, explains the president of the Arbitration Commission of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Wilson Luiz Seneme.

For almost two weeks now, he has been personally in charge of the referees’ pre-season before the start of the national tournament. He goes to the field, guides, signals and scolds. The activities simulate game situations, mainly the changes that will be implemented. The offside line is the one that draws the most attention, but it won’t be the only one.

The 40 clubs in Series A and B have received visits from members of the Arbitration Commission for lectures and explanations.

As happened in the 2022 World Cup, the CBF wants the addition of matches to be increased so that the ball is in play for as long as possible. The case that became best known at the World Cup in Qatar was that of the Brazilian Raphael Claus. In the confrontation between England and Iran, for the group stage, the referee added 29 minutes in total.

In the document published by the Confederation, the judges will have to be aware of the time spent in goal celebrations. Until then, the concern was with the delay in free kicks, corner kicks, ball replacements and injury simulations.

“If you time any goal celebration, it takes at least one minute”, points out Seneme, who before commanding the refereeing in the CBF held the same position in Conmebol, the South American Confederation.

In an interview with Folha de São Paulo, in September last year, he already signaled changes in expectations of what would happen in the Qatar tournament. He showed opposition to the pressure exerted on referees, especially by off-field players and coaching staff. It’s because of the IFAB, but the manager will be responsible for putting into practice that the player who disturbs the referee when he goes to check a move on the VAR monitor, should receive a yellow card. Or red, if you’ve been warned before.

The number of athletes allowed to be on the edge of the field during warm-up will be six. “It happened that not all (the reserves) were able to warm up, they stayed still and started cheering”, he observes.

VAR’s decisions will also be explained to fans on the big screen, in a succinct manner, in stadiums that have the structure for this. As has been the case for years in the NFL, the professional American football league. The idea behind this is to give transparency to the markings changed by the video referee. Seneme talks about “respect for the fans”.

This is also what, at least in discourse, is behind what became known as “Dibu Martinez rule”, holder of the Argentina national team in the World Cup. Because of his behavior before penalty kicks, it is determined that the goalkeeper is prohibited from trying to distract the rival, even if it is with jumps to touch the crossbar or crossbar before the beat.