Question Number: 16566

Law 15 - Throw In 9/6/2007

RE: Competitive & Tournament Under 15

John of Batavia, Illinois USA asks...

Technical aspects of a throw-in:

I have heard more than 1 coach scream about a throw being foul for the following reason:

Player is facing the field of play, both feet are on the touchline or behind it, the ball is thrown with both hands, BUT the throw comes over either the right or left side of the head - not straight over the top of the head. Law 15 only states that the ball must be delivered from behind and over his head.

The thrower is using one hand more than the other, but both hands are used and the ball does come over the head. I usually allow the throw. I feel it is trifling. If the ball comes over the shoulder (really awkward) I will signal the violation. Have I missed something in my interpretation?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

What does "over" mean? This is not facetious, think about it. Everywhere else in soccer, the ball has to be across a line in it's entirety, for example for a goal to be scored. If any portion of the ball eclipses any portion of the head, when viewed from above, isn't that ball "over" the head?

There's an awful lot of ugly throws that aren't illegal throws.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

John, the referee decides if the requirements of Law 15 have been met. He is free to believe the throw-in is correct if the player executing it is standing on one foot and throwing the ball with the other. He is unwise to do this but if he thinks it is correct IT IS.

That being said I will address two other things.

First: A coach is permitted to occupy the technical area and a coach is permitted to give tactical instructions to his team. You and your team are not his team and him airing out his opinions regarding what he thinks you should be doing is something you need to put a lid on. Your credibility as the sole judge of what is fair or not is at stake. Next week that same "gentleman" may have a 14 year-old referee on one of his first matches. Fo you want that coach screaming at him too? There is a way you can influence whether or not he is there to brow beat another referee...

Second: the word trifling as written in International FA Board 8 of Law V prior to July 1997 refers to a player considering something trivial not the referee considering something trivial. The referee must determine if what has just happened was a trivial thing to the gent it happened to. I use this example when trying to explain it to new referees. I ask a few of the bigger students if getting tapped in the ankle is a trivial thing. They usually say yes. That's when the fun begins.

One of them is asked to join me at the front and when he gets there I tap his ankle and ask if it is trivial. He usually looks rather queer but says it is still trivial. Then I ask the other students to watch his face and kick him a bit harder. His expression changes and I ask if it is still trivial -- yes but quieter and slower to answer. I kick him again but harder still. See where this is going? Sooner or later this big dude is going to want me to stop kicking him and take a swing. His face tells everyone just before that happens and then they know it ain't trivial to him any more. Learning happens when they realize, as referee, they HAD BETTER step in and whistle the kick BEFORE the player tells the opponent to stop.

You'll note kicking him in the ankle was still trivial to me, the one doing the kicking because the referee had not yet cautioned me for persistent infringement. It would be wise to read paragraph 5.5 of the 2007 edition of Advice to Referees, when published, for clarification on this issue.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

I agree with my colleagues here. The purpose of the throw in is to get the ball back into play. We as referees should not call it as an infraction unless we know for sure that it did not fulfill the laws. A lot of ugly throw ins are not illegal.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 17137