Referees in the English Premier League are set to review the competition’s offside laws following Taiwo Awoniyi’s recent situation.

The 27-year-old suffered a ruptured intestine in Forest’s 2-2 draw against Leicester City. Anthony Elanga was already offside when he played a through ball into Awoniyi’s path, and as is the rule with offside situations, the assistant referee kept his flag down until the sequence of play elapsed.

However, this action led to a life-threatening situation for Awoniyi, and now, the Players’ union representatives will talk to football lawmakers over the injury scare of the former Union Berlin striker.

Awoniyi was placed in an induced coma to aid his recovery from emergency abdominal surgery after his collision on Sunday.

According to the Mirror, The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) will raise concerns and try to learn lessons from any mistakes made over the incident.

The PFA will push the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the body responsible for the overseeing match officials in Professional English Football), and also law makers – IFAB, to review the current system and it is understood both parties are willing to listen and review the set-up.

The PFA has been in constant touch with Awoniyi’s family, they have made his health and recovery their utmost priority as well as liaising with Forest as a club, but now want to balance how linesmen should approach scenarios that led to the current condition of the Nottingham Forest striker.

Awoniyi’s club and national teammate, Ola Aina, revealed the club staff and players have been concerned about the welfare of the 2013 U-17 FIFA World Cup winner. Aina also advocated for a change in how linesmen approach clear offside situations.

“Taiwo is a very chilled guy. He doesn’t like to get in the way. He goes about his own business but he can have fun as well. He has been in a couple of my videos but I know he doesn’t like the cameras too much so I try not to put them in his face. I respect that about him. I have sent him a message of course. The whole team has.

“I have heard he is recovering well, so hopefully, we will hear from him soon. I knew he had hurt himself at the time but just didn’t realise it was to that extent. I only really heard when everyone was sending messages on our players’ group chat,” the ex-Chelsea defender said.

AEK Athens Monitoring S’Eagles Striker, Dessers’ Situation at Rangers

a key figure under manager

13-time Greek champions AEK Athens have reportedly set their sights on Cyriel Dessers as they seek to bolster their attacking options ahead of the summer transfer window.

Dessers, who joined Scottish side Rangers from Italian club Cremonese for €5 million in 2023, has enjoyed an impressive season, notching 28 goals and seven assists in 54 appearances across all competitions.

Despite criticism from sections of the Rangers fanbase earlier in the season, the Nigerian international has emerged as a key figure under manager Barry Ferguson.

The 30-year-old came close to an exit in January, amid interest from clubs in Spain and Italy, but opted to stay at Ibrox and fight for his place.

His commitment paid off as he led the line admirably, even though Rangers ultimately ended the season without silverware.

Now, with a change in ownership at Rangers and the likelihood of a new head coach arriving in the summer, uncertainty looms over Dessers’ future at the club.

AEK Athens are said to be monitoring the striker’s situation closely as they look to reinforce their forward line.

AEK are in the market for a new striker following the February sale of Trinidad and Tobago forward Levi Garcia to Spartak Moscow for a club-record €20 million.

With only Frantzdy Pierrot available as a natural centre-forward, AEK are prioritizing the signing of a proven goalscorer ahead of next season.

However, prising Dessers away from Rangers could prove challenging.

The Nigerian is under contract until the summer of 2027 and has already proven his consistency in Scotland, having scored 22 goals and provided nine assists in his debut campaign.

Ex-Champ, Froch, Backs Fury to Beat  Joshua in an Eventual Match-up

Ex-world champion, Carl Froch, has encouraged Tyson Fury to arrange a bout with Anthony Joshua, stating it would be a routine victory for the Gypsy King.

Fury, 37, stepped away from boxing following his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk, but has frequently hinted at a comeback. In late April, Fury shared a video of himself training with long-time coach Sugarhill Steward, sparking speculation that a return to the ring was on the cards.

With Daniel Dubois set to take on Usyk for the undisputed world championship in July, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, recently revealed that Joshua will undergo keyhole surgery on his elbow, side-lining him for four to six weeks. The Olympic gold medallist and two-time world champion hasn’t fought since his knockout defeat by Dubois at Wembley Stadium last September. Reflecting on that match, Froch believes Fury would easily triumph over Joshua if they were to face off.

On the Froch on Fighting podcast, the two-time WBC super-middleweight champion said: “Fury, if he comes out of retirement, the only fight really that’s going to be interesting for the fans, the only fight that I want to see personally is if he fights Anthony Joshua. It’s not that I’m mega interested and if it doesn’t happen that I’m going to be annoyed or feel like I’ve missed out on something, because I won’t do.

“But that will be the one that people want to see. That will probably still fill Wembley, but as a boxing purist, as a lover of the sport, am I that bothered if Tyson Fury never steps in the ring with Anthony Joshua? I’ll be honest, no.

“AJ has been flattened, ironed out, a few times. We’ve seen him lose against Andy Ruiz, he lost his soul and never regained it. He had a comeback with Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, he also beat Otto Wallin and then Francis Ngannou, the MMA fighter.

“Those four fights really flattered AJ, but never really tested him. He was never put under the kosh, he was never having to fight in there really with anybody that was coming in swinging, trying to take him out.”