Question Number: 34493

Law 15 - The Throw In 2/2/2022

RE: Fan Adult

Hector Catre of Toronto, Ontario Canada asks...

Weston McKennie (Juventis/USMNT) throws in like an NFL quarterback. Is this a legal throw in?
See reference below ...

https://media.giphy.com/media/KWW3uIhBgaskOLJxH8/giphy-downsized-large.gif

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Hector
Thanks for the question.
Law 15 tells us
At the moment of delivering the ball, the thrower must:
# stand facing 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

Looking at the throw I am of the opinion that the player meets the three conditions of a legal throw in so I could not see him being called for an incorrectly taken throw.

Older referees will recall that Law 15 at one time required that a player "uses both hands" so tell tale signs of not using both hands might get called although that was indeed rare. Myths developed around that and only the most pedantic of referees called them. I recall one referee years ago who always called a foot fault on any foot movement around the time of the throw. There was no possibility of momentum as part of the throw and it had to be a static feet position. The *uses both hands * was subsequently removed from the law and what I have quoted is the current position. The current wording says throw with both hands which allows a dominant hand to be used which is what this players appears to be doing.

I would make the point that many players currently and indeed in the past can through the ball this far from a throw in using what is seen as a conventional action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyySyL75isc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlbnUl196BQ

Different is not necessarily *wrong*

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Hector,

These ones are tricky for grassroots referees - tricky because at best it's close to a foul and can be difficult to spot when it crosses over into illegal throw territory, but also because you'll always get a lot of shouts for a foul throw. And at grassroots, a throw like this would probably be called (correctly or not) a fair bit.

Don't worry about the windup - the player can do whatever they like there. It's the delivery that matters. If the delivery is still somewhat side-on (like the windup), it's a foul. If he does this big windup then straightens up the path of delivery, it's legal. That's because if it's being thrown lopsided, when while it might be held with 2 hands, it's really only 1 creating the throw - thus, not being thrown with both hands.

Because of the way the camera angle cuts away I can't quite tell what his delivery is so I can't decide if I think this throw should be called or not

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Hector,
While, as ref Wright points out, the clip switches camera angle just at the moment of delivery, making it a little more tricky to decide than it would otherwise be, I think that at least for me personally, there's still enough to judge that this is a legal throw in.

As per the extract from the Laws that ref McHugh gives, the requirements for a throw in are quite minimal and from what I can see on that clip the player has complied with those requirements.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Hector,
I recall many a silly discussion on throw-ins at seminars the basic was, 'two hands from over the head".
There was NEVER a stipulation that the ball had to be thrown far so to let it plop just barely in front of you, inside the touchline is quite legal & fair. Just a long as you do not spike it holding onto the ball well past you face.
Plus there was NEVER a demand that both hands had to be used with equal force. There was some myths about spinning the ball and using the dominant hand like a shot-put given the perception a player should use hands on either side of the ball . That was more of an accepted habit than a written law as my colleague says, Different is not necessarily *wrong*
Cheers