Fed up with World Cup goals called offside for a stray toe or two? A Canadian soccer trial could fix that

It's one of the most deflating feelings for any soccer fan.

An attacker for your team receives a pass and they're running clean through on goal. They stroke the ball past the goalkeeper into the net and wheel away in celebration as they're mobbed by teammates. The fans in the stadium, in bars, at home, go crazy. 

Until the players' expressions suddenly change and the camera cuts to the assistant referee with their flag in the air.

Offside. No goal. Really?

The offside rule has been maligned as one of the most difficult rules to understand in soccer —and it's come under far more scrutiny during this year's World Cup.

It's better explained visually, but in essence: if an attacking player receives the ball and they are between the second-last and last defending player at the moment the pass is made, they are offside.

How to sound like you know soccer during the World Cup

That call is usually made by one of the assistant referees on the sidelines, who raises a flag to alert the on-field referee. Generally, it will also be reviewed by the video assistant referee (VAR), who uses digital renderings of the players involved to determine an offside line across the breadth of the pitch. 

VAR's involvement means the margins of offside calls have become increasingly fine — something that has been very apparent at the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026.

Witness Cristiano Ronaldo's goal against Croatia that was disallowed because one of the Portuguese legend's shoulders had strayed offside. Spare a thought for Colombia's Davinson Sánchez and Iran's Shoja Khalilzadeh, who were both denied last-minute goals (against Portugal and Egypt, respectively) because their toes had sneaked beyond VAR's unforgiving offside line.

They need to adjust the