Werner has been part of the national team's medical team for a few years. He is also engaged in the Football Doctors' Association's board. He reacted strongly to the incident when Nottingham player Awoniyi collided with the post after the game despite a clear offside.
But Werner was not surprised.
I have thought that this is unfortunate and especially the application of the rule. The first time I experienced it up close was during the European Championship 2021, he says.
Felt anxiety
No Swedish player was injured, but as a doctor, Werner felt anxiety.
There were some situations with very clear offside that they chose to wait with and where it became situations with a clear risk of injury. There were maximum efforts by defenders who threw themselves to block the ball. There were duels that involved the risk of collision and head injuries.
According to Werner, awareness of the problem is widespread.
I have talked to both UEFA's medical chief and with medical representatives within FIFA. They are aware, but I do not know how they work further with it.
One should think about what the problem means for the players. It also becomes strange for the players and the audience. Everyone realizes that it is offside and yet the game continues in some strange way. Only after a longer sequence does it finally become offside.
Flag more often
Unfortunately, the consequence has been that the assistant referees choose to almost never flag for anything, even when, as in the weekend, it was a very clear offside.
Werner does not believe that the solution is to scrap the VAR assessment for offside. It has its advantages. However, he believes that the referees – in this case, in the Premier League – should follow the handbook.
The instruction is to flag at clear and obvious offside. I think they should apply it more to avoid obvious offside situations that instead become risk situations.
Do you see a slow slide towards leaving it to VAR to judge instead of the referee taking active decisions?
I think so, says Werner.
Taiwo Awoniyi's serious injury is not the only one that has occurred after an offside situation.
There are several examples of players in England and Germany where it has become injuries after delayed offside, says Jonas Werner.
Henrik Skiöld/TT
Background: What happened to Taiwo Awoniyi
TT
+ The Swedish national team striker Anthony Elanga was in a clear offside position when he, in the 88th minute, passed teammate Taiwo Awoniyi in Nottingham's 2-2 match against Leicester on Sunday.
+ The assistant referee did not raise the flag, waiting for the semi-automatic VAR system to kick in and determine the offside.
+ In his eagerness to reach the ball, Awoniyi collided with the post. The Nigerian received treatment for several minutes. Despite the pain, he continued to play since Nottingham had made all five substitutions.
+ Awoniyi suffered a ruptured intestine, was operated on, and was placed under artificial coma for a while.
+ Nottingham's medical staff and manager Nuno Espírito Santo received criticism for letting Taiwo Awoniyi continue to play.
+ The incident highlights the risk of injury at delayed offside.
+ VAR is not used in domestic Swedish football, but is used in almost all international elite-level football.
