Question Number: 28108

Law 15 - Throw In 1/13/2014

RE: Youth thru adult amateur High School

Dave of Torrance, CA United States asks...

I learned tonight that there was a cautionable infraction on a throw-in; that a player could be cautioned per the following:

'if an opponent unfairly distracts or impedes the thrower'

My focus is on the 'distract' part of the law.

What are examples (verbal or otherwise) of 'unfairly distracting' the thrower? Other parts of the laws (11 & 12) talk about distracting an opponent, but says nothing about 'unfairly'. I understand that the opponent must yield at least 2 yds on throw in, so I'm not referring to this part of the laws.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Dave
The most common example would be a player outside the 2 yard area jumping up and down waving his arms. His sole intention is to unfairly distract the thrower from his target location.
For those of us around long enough this is what the Law used to state pre 97
''any of the opposing players dance about or gesticulate in a way calculated to distract or impede the thrower, it shall be deemed ungentlemanly conduct''
The same used to apply to free kicks with the principle following through to penalty kicks
''If, when a free−kick is being taken, any of the players dance about or gesticulate in a way calculated to distract their opponents, it shall be deemed ungentlemanly conduct for which the offender(s) shall be cautioned.'' Being close to the thrower and arm waving was the most common distraction at that time.
The Law has moved on since then with the introduction of the 2 yards exclusion zone which helps prevent this behaviour. Is the caution used very often now?. The answer is no as most referees just ask the player to desist.
By the way, after the caution the TI is retaken.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Dave,

Another way this could occur would be by shouting to 'baulk' the player as they're taking the throw.

If you can see something is occurring before the throw (like jumping around and waving arms) then you should always be proactive and manage the situation before using cards - of course if you don't have the opportunity to do this then it may be necessary to pull out a card, same if a player keeps trying it on.

I've never actually seen any of these incidents occur, so it's rare.