Question Number: 22006

Law 15 - Throw In 9/18/2009

RE: travel Under 11

mark of robinson, pa usa asks...

i have a 2 part question on throw ins recently at our u-10 game ,in the process of taking a throw in our player mistakenly took the penalty box line for the touch line as in this age group they end up being close together..she was wistled and the throw in went to the other team ..i explained what happened and said she never established herself outside the touchline in the first place thus making it an invalid attempt..they did not see it my way ,what is the actual rule in this scenario.. and the second part is if the player does cross the touchline on a throw in is this a do over or does the other team get the ball...i thought it was a do over,but im being told otherwise i explained that on a corner kick if the assistant ref thinks the ball was not in the arc he makes you do it again, wouldnt the same principal apply on throw ins? as always thanks for your input...

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Didn't establish herself outside the field thus an invalid attempt? That's one I haven't heard before.

As I'm sure you're aware, the laws of the game state certain procedures for a throw in - one of those is that both feet must be on or behind the touch line.

There's no such thing as 'establishing yourself' at the wrong line; we don't differentiate between 'nearly a correctly taken throw in 'and 'not even close to correctly taken'. Your player, unfortunately, broke the procedures regarding the throw in, for which the laws of the game state that the throw in must be awarded to the other team.

Interestingly, this is one of only two times when a restart can be changed and awarded to the other team for something that happens while the ball is out of play - any other time, no matter what happens while the ball is out of play (including incorrectly taking the restart), the restart remains the same . The only other restart allowing for things occurring while the ball is still out of play to have an effect is a penalty ki

So for any breach of procedure at a corner kick, kick off, goal kick, drop ball, or free kick the restart is to remain the same. That's simply how it is in the laws of the game - and I'm glad it is; turning over possession for an incorrectly taken throw in (or accepting a throw in that the players think is wrong) can be controversial enough; the last thing we need is having this controversy on all the restarts!

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

It seems like this is much ado about, well not nothing, but not very much.

I recall seeing an MLS game back before the soccer-specific stadiums, when they were playing on a football field. The player took the throw-in from the closer-in pointy-ball sideline, and they just played on. Nothing called, because it didn't matter much.

In the U10 game, why didn't the referee attempt to get the poor girl to move to the proper line for the throw-in?

You may have had 'try overs' in younger age groups; I know our U6 and U8 divisions get a second try on a bad throw. I think that's a much better solution than changing throw-ins to kick-ins as some leagues have done.

Answer provided by Referee Gene Nagy

Mark, when I teach referees I sometimes mention that it is easy to spot new refs because they call many foul throws. The point of that is to ignore minor things in the game and only call flagrant (or is it fragrant: ones that stink...) foul throws. Half the time the ball is lost to the opponents anyway.
But I am going to turn the tables on you, Mark. I suggest that you have bigger fish to fry then to 'explain' to the referees the technicalities of a throw in. Actually I am wondering how this 'explaining' went. First, you generally do not win the argument mainly because your status was coach at the game and second your action does not help in referee retention or the game.
For the record, I think the ref could have chosen a different way of handling the foul throw in. But your reaction should have been a smile and a deep swallow, better known as grin and bear it. When you 'explain' to the ref the rules your whole team is watching. And at age 10 they are sponges for learning. Well, you have just demonstrated to them that refs are pretty ignorant about some things and it is always an open season to question their decision.
What happened was actually technically correct and they DO NOT get a redo but very poor from a man management perspective.
I am happy to hear that Robinson, Pa has so many officils that they supply A/Rs for U-10 games. But I can assure you that if their calls are frequently questioned by coaches, they will not be able to afford this luxury.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Your league may have a rule that requires a second try for a foul throw. If not, then after a foul throw, the ball is awarded to the opponents for a throw-in.

Your player violated the letter of Law 15:

has part of each foot either on the touch line or on the ground outside the
touch line

Law 17 differs slightly but importantly. For any other infringement when the ball is not in play, like taking it outside the corner arc they say this:

In the event of any other infringement:
? the kick is retaken