Question Number: 26879

Law 1- The Field 10/3/2012

RE: competitive Adult

Maureen of Billings, MT usa asks...

Soccer game was being played on a football field that had two white side lines painted for football and an outer yellow side line boundry for soccer. It was team BH throw in and the ball was picked up and the proper throw in technique was used, however, the ball was thrown from within the field of play becuz of a player confusion as to what line was the soccer boundry line. ? Should this be a re-throw for team BH as the ball or player never left the field of play or is the ball turned over to the opponent. ? Also, should captain player from BH be given a yellow card for asking the ref politely why the call was made? Thank you

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Maureen
As the throw in was taken incorrectly by a player on the field of play the Laws state that the throw in is turned over to the opponents. Now a referee could decide on the 1st occasion at underage because of the line confusion to ask that the throw in be retaken from the correct location with any repeat dealt with as an incorrectly taken throw in. It is much more unlikely at adult level and older age groups though.
If the referee's call is questioned then technically that is dissent and the referee can caution the player. I have rarely seen a caution for asking politely plus the captain has no special rights in questioning the referee. It is also important to see this in context or totality. Constant polite questioning will eventually be seen as dissent or a player that has been asked to stop questioning calls and then persists will also attract the displeasure of the referee. Those situations can draw a card for dissent.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Many years ago when a MLS game was played on a field lined for both soccer and football, a player took the throw-in from the football line. Play was allowed to continue. The offense was trifling - it didn't give either team any advantage.

If it's a legitimate case of confusion, in a younger age game it would probably be best to allow the player to try again and take the throw from the proper line. However I see this is an adult game - perhaps adults should be held responsible for knowing whether they are on or off the field?

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

This is something I've often had to deal with, and I find that different referees take a different approach.

I prefer to keep it simple. If the players feet are completely on the field of play (ie taken from the wrong line), then it's an incorrectly taken throw in and the other team get the throw. This puts the responsibility back onto the players to ensure they're taking the throw from the correct place.

If the referee simply permits a retake, then this could cause problems if he later penalises a different player for stepping over the yellow line when taking a throw in, so I believe it's more consistent to just apply the laws as written.

Generally a referee should be able to handle a polite question, but it's his decision as to whether it constitutes dissent. It could be disagreement over how the question is presented, or it could be that the captain has been pushing the line of dissent earlier.