Question Number: 25001

Law 15 - Throw In 5/23/2011

RE: Comp Under 15

David of Brisbane, Queensland Australia asks...

This question is a follow up to question 24964

I've always had a bit of a problem with colleagues that call foul throws for 'spiking', or any other variation of an untidy or 'ugly but legal' throw-in. Basically, I've never found anything in LOTG that I can use to deem a spike, per se, illegal. I agree it seems to be custom and practice, particularly amongst long-serving colleagues, but where's the law that has been contravened?

From LOTG, the five requirements for a legal throw-in:

At the moment of delivering the ball, the thrower:

? faces the field of play
? has part of each foot either on the touch line or on the ground outside the touch line
? holds the ball with both hands
? delivers the ball from behind and over his head
? delivers the ball from the point where it left the field of play

Spiked throw-ins will sometimes contravene point four, but by no means always. However, nowhere is it mentioned how far into the field of play the ball has to be thrown; so my question to colleagues that make this call is where do you draw the line between an 'illegal' spike and a legal throw?

Even the USSF ATR seems to acknowledge that a spike is not necessarily illegal. It's carefully stated that, 'A throw-in directed straight downward (often referred to as a 'spike') has traditionally been regarded as not correctly performed ...'. This acknowledges the tradition of any spike being called foul. But it goes on tho state that, '... if, in the opinion of the referee such a throw-in was incorrectly performed, the restart should be awarded to the opposing team', which to my mind reinforces that any foul throw call must be based on one or more of the five requirements for a legal throw-in were not met.

Any comments?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Advice to Referees was written to capture many of the things that IFAB feels 'everyone knows' and thus need not be explicitly stated in the Laws. With a lack of soccer culture here in the US, there are many things that not everybody knows.

Your quote about the spike from Advice is typical of one of these things. There is nothing in the Laws that specificly outlaw a spike. But tradition is that it is not legal. If the referee sees it as not legal, the throw-in should be given to the other team. The 'if incorrectly performed' is not a wishy-washy way to get around the issue. Rather it is stating that the referee must see it as illegal - a spike going downward - as opposed to a short throw going mostly downward.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

David you could also say that the spiked throw was a trifling offense, gained no advantage for the team taking the throw and just let play continue.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

According to my (excellent) sources, this tradition regarding punishing spiked throws has more to do with referee options in managing a game than it does with hard and fast rules of what the referee must or must not do. In other words, there is no requirement that a spiked throw be called.

Often these events occur quite by accident, especially with younger or less experienced players, and those definitely do not need punishing. Those referees whispering in your ear need to think about the fact that bouncing the ball off an opponent or a teammate on a throw-in is perfectly legal, assuming it is not done recklessly or violently. If that is the case, why on earth would a spike be a problem?

Traditionally, it seems, such throws were looked on as a minor form of dissent or protest, and as such, rather than issuing a caution, the referee simply termed the throw as illegally taken and awarded it the other direction. This is perfectly within the referee's discretion and opinion as to whether a throw has been properly taken under the Laws...and the spirit of the game. Perhaps it was also a form of sportsmanship by the team who got the throw when they knew it belonged to the other team, and served as a way to give it back when the referee wouldn't - who knows for sure?

What does matter is that the referee is thinking about what they are calling and why, which is what you have done here. Please pass on to your referee friends what you have learned, so they too can think more and react less.

Regards.