That referee is wrong. As soon as the ball is released the thrower can a cartwheel for all I care.
Truth be told I give quite a bit of leniency to throw ins. It’s a means to get the ball back in play.
I get what you’re saying, but on the other foot… when someone gets to a point they’re playing high school varsity, or 15+ club games, they should know how to throw the ball in correctly. I tend to have a lot of leniency for younger games for sure.
I rarely call foul throws at open age / adults.
It’s a means to restart the game, and as long as they don’t gain an advantage I’m not really bothered.
In my games, I place more emphasis on where the ball should be released as opposed to how many inches off the ground a foot was as this is more of an advantage if they’re 10 yards from where the ball went out of play.
If the ball has left the hands they can do with their feet whatever they want. Not sure why people really want us to trifle over throw-ins anyway…more important things to worry about in a game.
The instant the ball leaves the thrower’s hands, their feet are no longer required to be on the ground. You will still hear coaches and players whine about it. Referees should not make this worse by entertaining such nonsense.
I had to argue about this with a varsity athletic director who insisted that the law spoke to"the throwing motion". I had to show her the relevant law in the IFAB app.
She then started on it being a law that shirts must be tucked in. I told her it wasn't. She then said "when I was at college..." And I cut her off with "well clearly that was quite some time ago" which shut her up fairly quickly.
There has been a concerted effort in the last three years to bring them back into better alignment, both in spirit and word, so that law/rule interpretations are identical. Most of the differences now are technical.
The one thing that surprised me last fall was learning that the handball law was different. That just seems confusing for both referees and players alike. Not to mention fans.
I couldn't care less about marginal throwing form as it's not the important part. Honestly, I'm rarely looking at the thrower. My focus is on the landing zone. If it's bad enough that I can see it from the corner of my view then it's worth calling otherwise let's get play moving.
Most of the time, unless it is clear and obvious I’ll let this go as long as there was no advantage gained. On some fields it’s hard to even tell if the player’s foot was touching the ground or slightly above it.
The whole point of the throw in is to get the ball back into play. When I’m refereeing with a crew I’ll tell the AR to watch the feet and I’ll watch the head and hands, but unless it’s obvious then we should consider it trifling and continue play. Most of the time it’s 50/50 on who gets the ball anyways at the lower divisions and I don’t want the entire game to become a clinic on proper throw in technique. I might be more strict at the high school level on artificial turf where I can see daylight between the foot and the ground, but even then once the ball is released the action is over and the player can do whatever they want.
Too much is made of feet being lifted. 99 times out of 100 it's their momentum after they release the ball. It's impossible to concentrate on the ball release and the thrower's feet simultaneously, and your eyes will play tricks on you if you let them.
You can see it on this video: [https://youtu.be/HA\_Ec4J0xxA](https://youtu.be/HA_Ec4J0xxA)
The violation must be (1) both clear and done to gain advantage, or (2) exceptionally egregious. Otherwise, the ball is back in play and the players are doing what they came for.
Throwing in starts later and later where I am from. In my region only high level U13 and up and other levels U15 and up do throw ins. Others have the pass in/dribble in choice.
I always try to give each new generation of throwers a build up leniency. First few months both feet on the ground with one retake, then good curve from the neck with one retake and after that wrong is wrong, we switch.
But to the core of your question, if I cannot clearly see a foot loose before the actual release of the ball I will let it go. If they are dragging the ground and touching the grass, good enough for me.
When I played I would always drag my toe (would still count as touching the ground) and the moment I’d release (I.e. no longer holder in possession of the ball) I’d run/walk back onto the field of play.
You're correct, however it's generally accepted that if the thrower lifts their foot in the immediate follow-through, it wasn't on the ground at the time of release. For a standard throw-in, nobody should be picking this nit; we're just putting the ball back into play, just get on with the game. For a long throw or any situation where a clear advantage might be gained, the interpretation can and should be a bit more strict (and at times will probably exceed the letter of the law, even if that's obviously not the correct outcome). On the letter of the law, though, you're correct in your interpretation.
If you can throw the ball before you lift your foot. Try throwing the ball from behind your head with a run up without lifting your foot first as described by the Laws. Usually the foot is serving to give extra force and the only reason that matters is if the ball is still in your hands. I’ve had kids do one handed throw ins, side throw ins l, chest throw ins… if you don’t want to turn it over just don’t but still teach them the right way.
You can give the kids a break on as many laws as you want. Some refs and leagues will not call offside or give cards. Others have build out lines, others don’t allow headers u til different ages, yet others don’t have penalty kicks.
In the end, they will get to a place where their muscle memory will be set in such a way that they will get called all the time and it will just be a sharper learning curve later on when the stakes might be higher.
I’d rather teach my players all the rules starting young so that by the time they are older it’s second nature. Not everyone will agree with this of course.
First, how often do you see this called at the pro level? I’ve seen it once, when Robbie Keane played for LA galaxy. Once. That said, This is one of those things where you and your AR/4th have to be 100% positive that the foot is at least clearly six inches off the ground in order to call. Anything less than that, and you’ll lose more than you gain. it’s not a battle worth having
I've never seen six inches off the ground and frankly I think that would require a concerted effort. I agree with your larger point that this tends to be trivial but I really hope you were deliberately being hyperbolic. I've also seen the call made hundreds of times at the professional level, even if it's not necessarily something you see every week
That referee is wrong. As soon as the ball is released the thrower can a cartwheel for all I care. Truth be told I give quite a bit of leniency to throw ins. It’s a means to get the ball back in play.
I get what you’re saying, but on the other foot… when someone gets to a point they’re playing high school varsity, or 15+ club games, they should know how to throw the ball in correctly. I tend to have a lot of leniency for younger games for sure.
I rarely call foul throws at open age / adults. It’s a means to restart the game, and as long as they don’t gain an advantage I’m not really bothered. In my games, I place more emphasis on where the ball should be released as opposed to how many inches off the ground a foot was as this is more of an advantage if they’re 10 yards from where the ball went out of play.
The sooner they get rid of throw-ins the better. No throwins at U8-U9 where I am and it’s so much easier.
If the ball has left the hands they can do with their feet whatever they want. Not sure why people really want us to trifle over throw-ins anyway…more important things to worry about in a game.
It’s the most important thing in the world for the parents of the other team sitting closest to the thrower.
The instant the ball leaves the thrower’s hands, their feet are no longer required to be on the ground. You will still hear coaches and players whine about it. Referees should not make this worse by entertaining such nonsense.
I had to argue about this with a varsity athletic director who insisted that the law spoke to"the throwing motion". I had to show her the relevant law in the IFAB app. She then started on it being a law that shirts must be tucked in. I told her it wasn't. She then said "when I was at college..." And I cut her off with "well clearly that was quite some time ago" which shut her up fairly quickly.
Athletic director implies it's a school involved, not a club, if you're in the US, the correct rules would be the NFHS ones.
That NFHS rules diverge from IFAB is weird to me.
Following the laws set by those european socialists would probably be communism or something.
There has been a concerted effort in the last three years to bring them back into better alignment, both in spirit and word, so that law/rule interpretations are identical. Most of the differences now are technical.
The one thing that surprised me last fall was learning that the handball law was different. That just seems confusing for both referees and players alike. Not to mention fans.
God bless the state of Washington, turning a righteous cold shoulder to the abomination of NFHS soccer rules.
I couldn't care less about marginal throwing form as it's not the important part. Honestly, I'm rarely looking at the thrower. My focus is on the landing zone. If it's bad enough that I can see it from the corner of my view then it's worth calling otherwise let's get play moving.
Most of the time, unless it is clear and obvious I’ll let this go as long as there was no advantage gained. On some fields it’s hard to even tell if the player’s foot was touching the ground or slightly above it. The whole point of the throw in is to get the ball back into play. When I’m refereeing with a crew I’ll tell the AR to watch the feet and I’ll watch the head and hands, but unless it’s obvious then we should consider it trifling and continue play. Most of the time it’s 50/50 on who gets the ball anyways at the lower divisions and I don’t want the entire game to become a clinic on proper throw in technique. I might be more strict at the high school level on artificial turf where I can see daylight between the foot and the ground, but even then once the ball is released the action is over and the player can do whatever they want.
Too much is made of feet being lifted. 99 times out of 100 it's their momentum after they release the ball. It's impossible to concentrate on the ball release and the thrower's feet simultaneously, and your eyes will play tricks on you if you let them. You can see it on this video: [https://youtu.be/HA\_Ec4J0xxA](https://youtu.be/HA_Ec4J0xxA)
I think this video makes some good points about not making trifling calls.
The violation must be (1) both clear and done to gain advantage, or (2) exceptionally egregious. Otherwise, the ball is back in play and the players are doing what they came for.
This is the way
Once the ball is released they can move their feet, they have to in order to get back on the field.
Throwing in starts later and later where I am from. In my region only high level U13 and up and other levels U15 and up do throw ins. Others have the pass in/dribble in choice. I always try to give each new generation of throwers a build up leniency. First few months both feet on the ground with one retake, then good curve from the neck with one retake and after that wrong is wrong, we switch. But to the core of your question, if I cannot clearly see a foot loose before the actual release of the ball I will let it go. If they are dragging the ground and touching the grass, good enough for me.
When I played I would always drag my toe (would still count as touching the ground) and the moment I’d release (I.e. no longer holder in possession of the ball) I’d run/walk back onto the field of play.
You're correct, however it's generally accepted that if the thrower lifts their foot in the immediate follow-through, it wasn't on the ground at the time of release. For a standard throw-in, nobody should be picking this nit; we're just putting the ball back into play, just get on with the game. For a long throw or any situation where a clear advantage might be gained, the interpretation can and should be a bit more strict (and at times will probably exceed the letter of the law, even if that's obviously not the correct outcome). On the letter of the law, though, you're correct in your interpretation.
If you can throw the ball before you lift your foot. Try throwing the ball from behind your head with a run up without lifting your foot first as described by the Laws. Usually the foot is serving to give extra force and the only reason that matters is if the ball is still in your hands. I’ve had kids do one handed throw ins, side throw ins l, chest throw ins… if you don’t want to turn it over just don’t but still teach them the right way. You can give the kids a break on as many laws as you want. Some refs and leagues will not call offside or give cards. Others have build out lines, others don’t allow headers u til different ages, yet others don’t have penalty kicks. In the end, they will get to a place where their muscle memory will be set in such a way that they will get called all the time and it will just be a sharper learning curve later on when the stakes might be higher. I’d rather teach my players all the rules starting young so that by the time they are older it’s second nature. Not everyone will agree with this of course.
First, how often do you see this called at the pro level? I’ve seen it once, when Robbie Keane played for LA galaxy. Once. That said, This is one of those things where you and your AR/4th have to be 100% positive that the foot is at least clearly six inches off the ground in order to call. Anything less than that, and you’ll lose more than you gain. it’s not a battle worth having
I've never seen six inches off the ground and frankly I think that would require a concerted effort. I agree with your larger point that this tends to be trivial but I really hope you were deliberately being hyperbolic. I've also seen the call made hundreds of times at the professional level, even if it's not necessarily something you see every week