Question Number: 27079

Law 15 - Throw In 12/22/2012

RE: Adult

Kevin Green of Skipton, N/Yorkshire England asks...

This question is a follow up to question 23313

Why if all the ball has to be over the line to be out of play. And a throw in is a way of getting the ball back into play, is a player alowed to stand on the line with the ball in his hands to take the throw in.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Kevin
As long as the player has any part of his foot/feet on the line that is legal. A player could have both his heels on the line with the rest of his feet on the field and that is legal. Many believe that the feet must not be over the line which is incorrect.
The ball is in play when it is released from the players hands and it crosses the plane of the touchline.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

It likely comes from two separate evolutionary threads in the Laws of the Game. They are unrelated, so they don't have to be consistent with each other. Many of the rules were developed over several decades in the 1800's. When the Laws were formalized, they took parts from several different sets of school rules.

Even if the throw-in was changed to requiring the feet to be behind the line, rather than on or behind, the ball would probably still be released when it had already entered the field of play.

The simple answer is that it doesn't matter; it's just the way it is.