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Throw-Ins

J

jertzee

Member
I've just started out refereeing but had a debate with a manager recently over foul throws.

Firstly, the law states

At the moment of delivering the ball, the thrower:
• faces thefield of play
• has part of each foot either on the touch line or on the ground outside thetouch line
• holds the ball with both hands
• delivers the ball from behind and over his head
• delivers the ball from the point where it left the field of play

Now, my understanding was that the ball must be released when it is over/above the head of the player, not once the ball has passed (fully?) in front of the player's head.

The law doesn't state "released" anywhere.
Essentially, if the ball is released from behind the head it is a foul throw.
My understanding was that that if released in front of the player it is a foul throw.
If the latter is correct, is it the whole ball that has to be in front of the player (player's head?)?
IS it just blatant throws where the ball is released well in front of the player that are foul?

I had never thought about it too much beforehand.
Any tips to prevent further "debates"?

Thanks
 
The Referee Store
You're correct with your understanding.

The ball must be:
• deliver[ed] from behind and over his head

You can't deliver the ball from behind your head without it going over it. If he's let go of it in front of his bonce, call it foul. The foul throws you'll see the majority of the time (excluding feet or wrong place) are when they're trying to take a short one and just plop it in front of them.

Hard to describe without a ball in my hands and you watching.

Don't over-think it: if it looks good, it probably is.
 
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I had a player once say "Aww Ref...how as that throw?"

"Well, it wasn't very pretty but it was legal"

I ref my wife's social team occasionally, and their full back has one of the worst looking throws I've ever seen - to get a bit of power, she ends up almost crouching, with the back knee almost on the ground. The ball flies up the line, low and hard.

EVERY time she takes a throw I hear 'Foul throw ref!" but I usually ask, what it was that made it a foul and I get "Well, errrr, it looked like one" or "she wasn't standing straight".

I have discussed it with her, and to me, both feet are on the ground, she is delivering the ball from over her head and facing the pitch. Usually, because it is so low, there'll be a run of three or four throws, all gaining 15 yards up the line because defenders aren't used to it and just stick a leg out.

TBH, most foul throws I give are for the release in front of the head OR the raised foot. Although I will admit I'm pretty lenient with throws.
 
.............."Although I will admit I'm pretty lenient with throws."

And therein lay my problem - I had let about 5 throws from each side go because they weren't blatantly foul throws but you could argue the arms/hand/release/delivery weren't the greatest. (All had feet firmly on ground).

It was a girls U15 match, and even though they SHOULD know how to do it properly I wasn't going to blow up every single time one was slightly out in the release.

When I did eventually give a foul throw for a blatantly bad one, the manager criticised me for missing the previous ten.
There is no doubt that I brought that upon myself but I bet he would have complained about me being a whistle happy ref if I had made the call the other way from the start.
 
Foul throws can be a tricky one mate. The easiest one to call is when the thrower lifts their foot up, there is no arguing with that one as it is a matter of fact, not opinion. When I first started reffing, a problem I faced and one by the sound of things you did in the U15 game, is consistency. What . Have to stress is you must try your best to stay consistent throughout games. What really bugs me when I ref is if I let some borderline throws go to let the game flow, I may realise in the second half that I was wrong. However, I then have to let all similar throws go, as consistency is crucial and you will often get picked up if you don't stay consistent
 
Foul throws for a lone ref are a bundle of football based fun! Watch the player throwing the ball and watch the amassed others jostling for position and Prepare for the inevitable "foul throw ref" (peppered with the occasional "in the back ref!" When the throw comes in) oh it is a joy!

Much like others, unless it is obviously a foul throw I just let them get on with it. Foot up is easy to pick up (if your not distracted!) ball released above or behind the head = not so much!
 
I do youth football and find that I am punishing foul throws all the time. The thing is, if you punish one then you punish all, and with kids, if you tell them then they won't learn but if you penalise them then they will learn. One piece of advice - don't engage in debate with managers. Explain to them the law but don't argue, they are generally pretty stubborn!
 
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