Torns IF used ‘gentle persistence’ to force officials to act
Ifab clarifies offside loophole over ‘delayed’ pass
A Swedish third-tier side have changed the laws of football after their “gentle persistence” in exploring an offside loophole forced officials to act.
Football’s law-making body, the International Football Association Board. (Ifab), has amended the text of the offside law to clarify at which point an offside assessment should be made. The change comes after interventions from Torns IF, a club from the small town of Stångby near Malmö, who wondered whether a player could get around the offside law by keeping the ball balanced in the crook of their foot.
A video showing Torns trying to put their “scoop pass” trick into practice went viral in 2023 and provoked lengthy correspondence between Torns and Ifab. At first Ifab sought to dismiss the query but Torns’ persistence led the body to acknowledge that it was “amusing” and consent to reviewing the wording of the law.
