According to “Varzesh3,” the 2-2 draw between Nottingham Forest and Leicester City, in addition to a verbal clash between the club owner and Forest’s head coach, made headlines for another reason—the horrific injury to Taiwo Awoniyi after a severe collision with the goalpost.

Nottingham Forest announced that the player fell into a coma due to the abdominal impact with the goalpost and underwent a difficult and dangerous surgery.

English media are criticizing the match referees, but some argue that the referees should not be blamed—the real problem lies with football’s rules. Critics say if the assistant referee had promptly flagged Anthony Elanga’s offside position, he would not have crossed the ball, and Awoniyi would never have been in a position to suffer such a severe injury.

FIFA must reconsider the current directive that instructs referees and assistant referees to wait before calling offside until the ball’s outcome is determined—this could come at the cost of players’ safety. For years, the rule was that assistant referees should immediately raise the flag upon detecting offside, and the referee should blow the whistle to stop play.