Question Number: 26534

Law 5 - The Referee 7/4/2012

RE: Intermediate Under 12

Phil of Tarzana, CA United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 26511

Suppose that blue team kicks the ball over the touchline & before you make a call, the blue team picks up the ball. (I know that a lot of coaches tell their players to act as if it's their throw-in any time it looks remotely close) Everyone starts running toward the red goal, but you stop the throw-in before it's taken & give it to the red team.

Would you hold up the restart until both teams get into position?

If the throw-in was taken before you get a chance to correct it (& so you stop play & give it to the red team), would you hold up the restart?

What if you felt the blue team did this deliberately?

Thanks again for all the advice,

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

If you have to reverse the direction of any restart, you should probably make it ceremonial. This is particularly true if you as a referee change your mind about the direction, or if you made a mistake and pointed the wrong way. This would also apply if Blue's actions confused Red. Teams should be given a short time so prepare so as not be confused about what is going to happen.

The blue player could be cautioned for delaying the restart of play (but probably only after a warning) or for unsporting behavior if snatching the ball provokes a confrontation. Both of these would be rare.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
Generally most team protest throw ins that are in doubt and as you say a team can pick up the ball expecting to get the throw in. When the decision is reversed there is no onus on the referee to delay the restart until the team has repositioned itself. If a team takes the TI before the referee can stop them then the same will apply. Generally teams will probably delay giving the ball back anyway until the players are positioned to its benefit.
Unless it was blatantly obvious that the player was delaying the restart rather than genuinely thinking that it was his team's throw in then a caution would not be required. Those situations would be rare and I would give the benefit of the doubt to a player that wanted to get on with play quickly to his team's advantage.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Personally, I would only delay the restart if it was my fault that the wrong team picked up the ball (say, I initially signalled the wrong direction).

Aside from that, the players should be confirming with you.

In this scenario, I wouldn't be delaying the restart at all.

While the blue team doing this deliberately could technically be considered delaying the restart of play, how could you possibly be certain of this? It's not a card you want to be giving, and it's not really a card that's in line with the spirit of the game.

It might be worth making an issue out of it if a blue player very blatantly kicks it out and it's clear to everybody that the same player (or a teammate) is wasting time by keeping the ball away from the red player, but I've never seen this happen, so I wouldn't be looking for a reason to make an issue out of it.