There’s encouraging news about Super Eagles striker Taiwo Awoniyi as the Nottingham Forest forward has come out of an induced coma after undergoing abdominal surgery.
It follows a nasty injury he picked up in Forest’s Premier League match against Leicester City, which ended 2-2.
Awoniyi collided heavily with the post while chasing a loose ball, only for the assistant referee’s flag to go up for offside after the incident.
That delay has stirred serious debate about the way offside is handled, especially with the influence of VAR in games.
His Super Eagles teammate Ola Aina has already pointed out that the injury could have been avoided.
Many feel the assistant referee should have flagged immediately, which would have stopped play before Awoniyi's collision.
But under current VAR rules, assistants are told to delay their flag in tight offside situations to allow the phase of play to unfold. The idea is to prevent incorrect offside calls, but it clearly carries a risk.
Taiwo Awoniyi: Ola Aina in no doubt as to who to blame for horrendous injury, blasts culprit 🚨
-more via the pinned comment 🔗↙️#OlaAina #SuperEagles #NFFC pic.twitter.com/NZa6q7kMk9
— Afrik-Foot NG (@AfrikFootNG) May 15, 2025
PFA seeks engagement with Premier League over Taiwo Awoniyi
Now, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has confirmed it will meet with the Premier League to discuss the incident and the broader implications for player safety.
The union also plans to engage with the game’s lawmakers at IFAB and the referees’ body PGMOL to review how these protocols are applied.
For now, their main focus remains Awoniyi’s health and recovery.
But the PFA will press for answers in the coming weeks and ask whether changes are needed to avoid similar incidents in the future.
It’s a conversation that’s been a long time coming, and this incident might prompt a rule change towards that direction.
Safety should never take a back seat to procedure, and this case might finally push the authorities to act following the harrowing experience Awoniyi has gone through.
