Question Number: 30422

Law 9 - The Ball in and out of Play 5/17/2016

RE: Rec Adult

Richard of Oxford, Oxfordshire UK asks...

A player makes a tackle and wins the ball cleanly but the ball is going out of play for a throw to the opposition. Before the ball has completely crossed the touch line it hits the linesman's foot and stays in play .What should be given ?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Richard
The answer is that play continues as the ball has not left the field of play. Now perhaps the AR if he was unsighted may raise his flag for the ball out of play in the belief that it had in fact crossed the line before hitting him, as he may think he was off the FOP.
The teams may also ignore it if the TI is given rather than the rebound that keep play going legally and to the benefit of one team.
Never a good situation / position for an AR to be in.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Richard,
The referees are part of the field, like a goal post. In this case, as the ball has remained in play then play continues.

AR's need to be careful of their position when the ball is close to them and may need to either step back down the line a little, or step off the line. Either way a potential decision may be compromised - but remaining too close to play can also make it difficult to see what is happening in a tackle as everything just becomes a bit of a blur.