Question Number: 24769

Law 15 - Throw In 4/4/2011

RE: Competitive Under 16

Kerry Gleadle of Gilbert, AZ USA asks...

ASt the weekend our player was yellow carded for delay of play with 10 minutes to go in the game and we were winning 3-2. The ref said he took too long to take the throw in. He picked up the ball went to throw brought the ball back down because he changed his mind about who he was going to throw to and then threw the ball in. The ref then blew his whitle and gave him a yellow card. The opposition parent s were shouting at the ref that he was delaying game. I hate to say it but coaches sub, boys kick the ball out of the park and always take their time with goal kicks at a crutial time of the game with the score so close. What is the actual rule regarding 'delay of play'?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Kerry
The decision is 'in the opinion of the referee'. These delaying the restarts situations differ though from the time taken for substitutions and kicking the ball out of play. Teams are entitled to make substitutions and there is nothing wrong with kicking the ball out of play during play. The referee however must add on time to deal with the time lost.
As regards restarts such as throw ins, goal kicks, etc the referee needs to manage these proactively. When the delay taken to get the ball back into play is being highlighted by opponents players need to be careful about changing their minds or say resetting the ball. That will look like an obvious delaying tactic and it can draw a caution. Also a referee can be generous with the 1st one or two but then he can decide that it needs to be dealt with usually with a caution.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Law 12 makes 'delaying the restart of the match' a form of cautionable misconduct for which a yellow card may be shown. In most cases, however, a warning will suffice to stop one team from wasting time on a throw-in.

My experience is that, above u-little, the team in the lead who wastes time during a throw-in knows exactly what it is doing. It is a coached technique. It is not something that the referee should ignore, particularly near the end of a U16 match. Frustration often leads to confrontation. Adults might rationalize that they'd do the same thing if they were in the lead. Teenagers tend to strike out at perceived injustice.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

This is a Select U16 game. The thrower knew exactly what he was doing and the referee needed to address it. At this level, the opposing players do not take kindly to such tactics and as Ref Wickham points out, they tend to take matters into their own hands.

Did the referee have to caution the thrower? No. While he certainly was within Law to do so and it may have been the correct decision for that game that day, the referee could have just announced loudly to cut out the time wasting and that he was adding at least as much time as the player was wasting. When coaches resort to these stupid coaching stunts, it is imperative the referee address them so the opposing players know he is taking care of things and the time wasters are not getting away with cheating