Question Number: 16187

Law 15 - Throw In 8/1/2007

RE: Recreational Adult

Brian Vanderbyl of Beaumont, California San Bernardino asks...

Proper Throw In

Is it legal for a player that is throwing in the ball after the ball goes behind the head and goes past the forehead to then just drop the ball onto the field or do they have to follow through?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The throw must be a throw, not a drop. There must be some lateral force imparted to the ball by the hand/arm motion. The force may be minimal - a short throw is not an illegal throw - but it must be a throw. Also traditionally the ball may not be thrown directly down, something commonly called a "spike".

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

There is no Law against ugly throw-ins, and what you are describing is an ugly throw. What looks like a dropped ball may simply be a very soft throw. If it meets the critieria of Law 15, whereby the thrower is facing the field, both feet on or behind the touchline, using both hands, coming from behind and over the head, and within three feet from where it left the field, then it is a legal, albeit ugly, throw-in. What a referee should be watching for here is to make sure the thrower doesn't play his own throw-in. That's a no-no. The follow through simply means the throwing motion carries forward to the point of release - there is no "right" place to let go of the ball. After all, a throw-in is simply a means of restarting play and getting the ball back into play quickly. Since throw-ins are won routinely by a half defense-half offense percentage, small infringements of the Law may be considered trifling and let go.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Law 15 states the thrower must have part of each foot on the ground either on the touchline or off the field, it must be thrown from where it left the field, it must be thrown from behind and over the head using both hands and he must face the field.

Note there is nothing that says how much force must be used, whether or not the ball spins, what the initial trajectory just happens to be, It says -- first and foremost -- a throw-in is a method of restarting play after the ball crosses the longer of the field boundaries. The referee should not add to what the Law says. US Soccer talks about a "spike" that may be considered illegal, that started a myth.

If the thrower stops the motion of his arms then allows the ball to drop from his hands I can't see how it has been thrown. It has been dropped from motionless hands. This is not a throw-in as intended by Law 15. In my humble opinion...

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

Sounds like a bad throw. The ball must be thrown with force and not simply dropped. Without seeing it I cannot say for sure, but it sounds like an infraction.