Question Number: 32614

Law 15 - The Throw In 8/1/2018

RE: Competitive Adult

Peter Babbage of Hjorring , Denmark asks...

Recently in a girls game she took a couple of steps towards the touch line . She then did a forward somersault and hurled the ball forwards. As far as I could tell when releasing the ball she had both feet on the ground, , the ball went directly over her head and she was facing the field of play. Was this all legal? No-one objected and I must say I admired her technique but should I have allowed it?

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Peter,
Based on your description, this sounds like a perfectly legal throw to me. A 'flip throw' is allowed, so long as at the actual moment of delivery, the player is in compliance with the throw-in procedure's requirements. What preceded the throw is irrelevant, it only matters what they were doing at the moment they actually delivered the ball.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Peter
There has been a few of these so called flip throws shown on the web.
From watching some it appears that the throws meets of the conditions of a legal throw so it should be allowed.
Now I have seen a few where the thrower is technically not standing at the moment of the throw but squatting and gets to the standing position almost immediately after release. That can be a tough to determine at speed without technology.
The game has somewhat *accepted* these types of throw in all their forms. I would let it slide unless it was blatantly obvious it was illegal such as in this example
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EUjTdFWdtZg
Here is one that is done correctly
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jPV4n9ehIJU