Question Number: 20578

Law 15 - Throw In 11/24/2008

RE: Competitive High School

John E of Norton, MA USA asks...

I was watching a U18 game last night and I saw an unusual situation. A team had a throw in and the player taking the throw in saw a defender with his back turned and threw the ball such that it hit the defender and rebounded back to the thrower who then began to dribble forward. The referee immediately blew the whistle and carded (yellow) the thrower for 'striking' an opponent (I heard him say that to the coach). It did not appear to me to be an attempt to 'stike' the player as much as an attempt to get around the need for the ball to touch another player before the thrower could play it. I'm obviously not sure what the ref was thinking and couldn't stay around to ask. What do you think about this action, particularly assuming the thrower was not trying to strike the opponent; as in trying to harm him?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Fifa has stated in the additional instructions
QUOTE
Procedures ? Infringements
Referees are reminded that opponents may be no closer than 2 metres from the point at which the throw-in is taken. Where necessary, the referee must warn any player within this distance before the throw-in is taken and caution the player if he subsequently fails to retreat to the correct distance. Play is restarted with a throw-in.

If a player, while correctly taking a throw-in, intentionally throws the ball at an opponent in order to play the ball again but neither in a careless nor a reckless manner nor using excessive force, the referee
must allow play to continue.
End quote

Now if the referee IS of the opinion it was a reckless act and cautions the thrower it is a striking DFK foul from the point of contact.

There was a recent discussion on a FLIP throw that caught an opponent in the face where it was speculated as an accident as opposed to a deliberate act and whether a flip throw is inheriantly unsafe or against the spirit ofthe law. As a matter of control a flip throw is generally more erratic in direction even if forcefull in flight and the thrower loses sight or vision just prior to it entering the field so any movement into the line of flight could be unexpected.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

I would love to know how the referee restarted play. Unless the ball was thrown with a lot of force or obvious malice, there's nothing wrong with what the player taking the throw did. If the referee felt the intent was to strike the opponent then we've almost certainly elevated to violent conduct. I think this was just another inventive referee that doesn't understand the Law or doesn't bother to keep current. As Ref Dawson shows, the answer to this question is in black and white. But the referee would have had to taken the trouble to actually READ the new LOTG with it's interpretations and additional instructions. You state this was a U18 game so we are assuming it is NOT a high school game. Our answers are based on FIFA and USSF guidelines only.