Question Number: 24610

Law 15 - Throw In 2/23/2011

RE: Competitive High School

Phil Duhon of Copperas Cove, TX United States asks...

In our game last night, an opposing player was capable of astoundingly long throw-ins. In the second half, we noticed that he was placing one hand behind the ball, instead of both hands on the side. Is this an infraction?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
An interesting question and one that requires some background.
Upon until a number of years ago the legal method of taking a throw in as per the Laws of the Game required that players used both hands in the throwing motion. So many referees were of the view that any throw that did not use both hand and where a dominant hand was used it was deemed to be incorrectly taken and the throw in was turned over. That has now all changed and Law 15 now states that the ball has to be held with both hands which is a subtle change but nonetheless makes a difference in interpretation of an incorrect throw in. Tell tale signs of one hand use is no longer looked for just that both hands are touching the ball
NHFS Rule 15 states that the thrower shall use both hands (unless a physical impairment would limit use to one hand) so NHFS has the historical wording on this matter. If a referee officiates on both codes I doubt if their interpretation is different for both.
During my playing days I had a pretty long throw in and I doubt that placing one hand behind the ball in the throwing action is the reason behind length. If one watches any long thrower the skill is in the use of large muscles in the back and arms not through the placement of hands alone. Indeed good placement of both hands can give further improvements. So I doubt very much that the hand placement is the reason for length.
In this case the referee decided it was legal so that's all that counts really. Certainly there is nothing wrong with it in a USSF/FIFA game as long as the ball comes over the top of the head and I suspect, without having any expertise, is that the same may apply to NFHS games

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

No.

The interpretation of the high school rules is the same as under TLOG regarding the proper method of taking the throw. Both hands (if the player is not disabled) must be on the ball. The ball must be thrown over the top of the head. Spin is irrelevant. (Note: NFHS rules differ on the restart if the ball fails to enter the field on an otherwise proper throw-in.)

A player who can take a long throw-ins is a powerful weapon, particularly on fields of minimum width. I find that the most common infringement on a long throw-in involves the feet, not the hands.