Question Number: 22421

Law 9 - The Ball in and out of Play 11/2/2009

RE: Travel Under 16

David of St Charles, IL USA asks...

A ball is in the air starting to cross over a sideline - is the ball out of bounds when it hits the ground or while it's still in the air? If the ball would need to hit the ground to be out, would a player need to physically be in bounds to move this ball, while still in the air, back onto the playing surface?

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Unlike basketball or rugby it doesn't matter if the player is in contact with the ground outside the field of play while playing the ball.

If the ball - the entire ball - wholly crosses the boundary line of the field, it is out of play. It doesn't make a difference if it's on the ground or in the air.

If so much as a sliver of the ball is still above the line, with the rest of the ball off the field, the ball is still in play - the whole ball needs to cross the line to be out.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Ref Wright has it right (duh!) and I would simply add that determining whether the whole ball has left the field, in the air or on the ground, is a responsibility for the assistant referee (and occasionally the well placed referee) to determine - not bystanders, coaches or substitutes.

We're not perfect, of course, but we are in a better position to judge the in or out 99% of the time.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi David
The best description I ever had on this is to imagine the field of play as a rectangular transparent cube with the side planes of the cube placed on the outside edge of the boundary lines. Once all of the ball appears outside the plane it is out of play. If any part of the ball is still inside the plane the ball is still in play.