Question Number: 16803

Law 1- The Field 9/20/2007

RE: 8 rec, select, adult College

Michael Newhouse of Lewisville, TX USA asks...

I have a question regarding throw ins... not about how to throw it in, but regarding what the law reads regarding placement of the feet. This has been bothering me for 5 years now, so I thought I would go ahead and ask.

The law states that both feet must be on OR behind the touch line, and touching the ground for the throw in to be a legal one. I have no problem with this; however, this leads me to believe that what is being said is that the line is NOT part of the field. After all, why would you allow a player to be ON the field while throwing in the ball?

Obviously if the thrower has both heels on the line, and doesn't lift them up, that the throw in is legal, which again implies that the line is not part of the field.

In my opinion, this contradicts itself once you understand that the ball must be completely OVER the touch line for the ball to be out of play, which implies that the line is actually part of the field.

So if the ball must be completely OVER the line (which is part of the field), why would a thrower be allowed to stand with both feet ON the line (no part of his feet behind the line) and be considered legal?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Michael,
it is a simple restart if you try to dissect it into them apples or those apples type thing consider that the hands grasp the ball and in fact the hands enter the field of play still holding the ball thus technically they are handling the ball deliberately.

The laws state the procedure and what can or cannot take place with regards to procedure. Now if you consider that even if one were to stand on the boundary line the ball still has to go behind and over the head thus the ball will come back into play from outside the boundary line before being released. So in the overall scheme is 5 inches of standing leeway really a big deal? Given we can accept a restart a yard or in some cases farther from where the ball left the field as trivial anyway?

Law does state the lines are part of the field they encompass with regards to the location of a ball being in or outside them because of the ball is over a foot across and thus contact is deemed inside. But note a player standing or straddling the boundary line at midline could still be considered in an offside position even if part of her or him is onside! Some things are stated in black and white to make the distinction of yes or no easier.

For throw ins do not worry about the heel grounded on the 5 inch boundary line, concentrate on the new (1 ) two meter distance to avoid the interference and note the very important fact that (2) an incorrectly taken thrown from the wrong spot is a loss of possession not a retake whether the ball enters the field or not! These are two HUGE fundamental changes to the laws of number 15!
(1) A player was previously entitled to stand on the field where he wished!
(2) If the ball did not enter the field by coming in contact with the touchline while in the air it was always a retake whether it was correctly done or not because play had not yet restarted!
My solution to your query, just choose to be less bothered! I consider imagining the boundary lines as invisible 5 inch walls extending upward and trying to determine if the curve of a ball has actually come into contact with it as more worthy of consideration ;o)
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Another way of sorting this is the lines belong to the areas they mark. The touchline is marking the area a thrower is permitted to take the throw-in from sort of like Law 15 states. When the ball is being considered in or out of play the field boundaries mark the areas in which the ball is in play and no longer in play sort of like Law 9 states. That is the way it is and always has been in this Game.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

I understand your confusion as I feel exactly as you do. If the touch line is part of the field, which it is, then it makes much more sense that the feet must be BEHIND the line. But... that's not what Law 15 says so we simply go with it.