Question Number: 32741

Law 15 - The Throw In 9/24/2018

RE: Rec and Travel Under 15

Carsten of Hoffman Estates, IL United States asks...

Law 15¦.The Throw-in debate.

Example: Player looking down the touchline for the throw-in and attempts to throw the ball in but, the ball never goes into the field of play.
Following the throw-in procedures.

Both feet on the ground and the ball was throw the ball with both hands from behind and over the head. The player did not face the field. Shoulders were perpendicular and the player was facing down the touchline. Facing the field of play procedure has not been met. Shouldnt this be a bad throw and the opposing team awarded the throw?
I have seen is that teams try to take advantage if their teammates are not setup or trying to move the ball down the touchline (in the spirit of the game). We do have Law 5.

Procedure
At the moment of delivering the ball, the thrower must:
¢ face the field of play
¢ have part of each foot on the touchline or on the ground outside the
touchline
¢ throw the ball with both hands from behind and over the head from
the point where it left the field of play

Thank you

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Carsten,

Don't get too hung up on 'face the field of play'. That's there to make it clear that players are throwing it forwards, and not backwards over their head.

Besides, are you sure it was perpendicular and not very, very slightly angled towards the field?

FIFA aren't seeking to prevent players from throwing it along the line.

The throw is fair as long as the other criteria have been met. Bear in mind that often in these cases the ball may swerve in then back out - as soon as the ball has a sliver above the touch line, it's in play - of course, it's impossible to tell that's happened without a NAR (unless you're standing off the line yourself).

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Carsten, a throw in is VERY simple procedure to restart play it is not designed to cause us hardship. Throwing down the FOP along the touchline is perfectly fine. In USA highschool a ball that does not land inside the FOP is awarded to the other team regardless of whether it was a correctly performed procedure. Under FIFA at present if the throw in WAS correctly done mechanically but that ball NEVER at any time entered the FOP it can be retaken by the same team . HOWEVER only an AR standing looking along the touchline get an accurate view! Consider the 5 inch touchline as an imaginary wall of water that rises straight up IF that ball on its flight path from being delivered via a throw in gets the least bit of water on it that ball is NOW in play so if the throw-in was correctly done and it lands eventually out of play we award the throw in to the other team where it re-entered and went back out. That is something a WIND assisted ball might very well do.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Carsten
When Law 15 says faces the field of play it does no mean that a player has to be perpendicular to the touchline. Why this is the case is what I refer to as tacit knowledge. Viewing any game at any level will show players throwing the ball up or down the line which is allowed. Indeed most throws are generally up the touchline and are accepted as legal.
Facing up and down the line is facing the field of play so if a ball us thrown up the line and it does not enter the field of play the throw in is retaken.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Carsten,
As ref McHugh says, a certain level of tacit knowledge is in play here. The original throw-in law (which was Law 5 in the original laws of 1863) said that the ball had to be thrown-in:

''in a direction at right angles with the boundary line.''

However that was fairly soon changed (in 1877) to say that the ball could be thrown in any direction. That provision has remained in force since that time. So ever since 1877, in essence, it has been permitted to throw the ball down the line. It has become such an ingrained part of the game that in this instance (as in many other parts of the law) the IFAB evidently feels that it is not necessary to explicitly state it.

As my colleagues have stated, if any part of the ball crosses the plane of the line it is in play and so the throw-in could potentially revert to the other team (depending on the exact circumstances) but if the ball never comes into play, under IFAB Laws the throw is retaken by the same team.

Answer provided by Referee Joe Manjone

Carsten,
Just a reminder that if you are working a high school or college game, and the throw-in fails to enter the field of play before it touches the ground, the ball is awarded to the opponent at the spot where the ball hit the ground.

I hope that your fall season is very successful.