Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi lies in a hospital mattress, after surgical procedure. He’s now recovering from a ruptured gut after colliding with a goalpost throughout a Premier League match towards Leicester Metropolis on Sunday.
The 27-year-old striker, who underwent emergency stomach surgical procedure and was briefly in an induced coma, chased a cross from teammate Anthony Elanga, just for replays to point out . Had the assistant referee raised the flag instantly, Awoniyi won’t have risked his physique for a play that by no means counted.
The Rule That Put Awoniyi in Hazard
The Worldwide Soccer Affiliation Board (IFAB) launched the delayed offside flag protocol within the 2020-21 season to let tight calls be reviewed by VAR, guaranteeing legitimate objectives aren’t wrongly disallowed.
“This harm would by no means have occurred if the flag went up.”— Ola Aina, Nottingham Forest
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Assistant referees should hold flags down throughout “clear attacking conditions” until the offside is indeniable, in keeping with IFAB’s official guidelines. In Awoniyi’s case, the very apparent offside went unflagged, permitting a harmful play to unfold.
Historic circumstances echo this concern:
In March 2021, Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio suffered a head harm after colliding with teammate Conor Coady whereas chasing a play involving Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who was offside however not flagged till late, as reported by Sky Sports activities and Opta.
Manchester Metropolis’s John Stones and Ederson picked up accidents in 2024 from delayed offside calls, per The Guardian.
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Critics argue the rule prioritizes referee warning over participant security. Former referee Keith Hackett instructed BBC Sport that delayed flags “expose gamers to harm” by prolonging pointless bodily contests. Forest’s Ola Aina insisted Awoniyi’s harm “would by no means have occurred” with an earlier flag, per BBC Sport.
This was an offside play. – FIFA should act earlier than a participant dies on the sector – Getty Photos
The Premier League’s present standings, present Nottingham Forest in fourth place as of Could 15, 2025, chasing Champions League qualification. Awoniyi’s absence might dent their marketing campaign, with the striker having scored two objectives this season, in keeping with Opta. His harm has sparked requires IFAB to rethink the rule.
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Followers and pundits are vocal on platforms like X, with posts demanding the rule’s scrapping after Awoniyi’s ordeal. The protocol, meant to scale back errors, now faces scrutiny for creating avoidable dangers.
If FIFA does not act quickly, the subsequent time might not finish in surgical procedure — it might finish in tragedy.
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