Throw-in
A throw-in is a method of restarting play in association football when the whole ball passes over the touchline. It is governed by Law 15 of the Laws of the Game. In Scotland, it is known as a shy.
Award
When the ball goes out of play past the touch-line to the side of the pitch, a throw-in is awarded to the opponents of the player who last touched the ball, whether deliberately or accidentally.Procedure
The throw-in is taken from the point where the ball crossed the touch-line, either on the ground or in the air, though typically a referee will tolerate small discrepancies between the position where the ball crossed the touch-line and the position of the throw-in. Opposing players may not approach closer than to the point on the touch-line from which the throw-in is to be taken.When delivering the ball, the thrower must face the field of play. The thrower must have part of each foot on the touch-line or the ground outside the touch-line and use both hands to deliver the ball from behind and over the head.
The ball becomes in play as soon as it enters the field.
A goal cannot be scored directly from a throw-in; if a player throws the ball directly into their own goal without any other player touching it, the result is a corner kick to the opposing side. Likewise, an offensive goal cannot be scored directly from a throw-in; the result, in this case, is a goal kick for the defending team.
A player may not be penalised for an offside offence when receiving the ball directly from a throw-in. Skillful attackers can sometimes take advantage of this rule by getting behind the last defender to receive the throw-in and having a clear path to the goal.
The optimal release angle for attaining maximum distance is about 30 degrees above the horizontal, according to researchers at Brunel University. According to the study, players can throw the ball with greater release velocity for lower angles.
Offences
Opposing players failing to respect the required distance before the ball is in play, or otherwise unfairly distract or impede the thrower, may receive a caution for unsporting behaviour. If the throw-in has already been taken when the referee stops play for this offence, an indirect free kick is awarded.If the thrower fails to deliver the ball per the required procedure or from a point other than where the ball left the field of play, the throw-in is awarded to the opposing team. This is commonly known as a "foul throw". However, if the ball touches the ground before entering the field, the same team retakes the throw-in from the same position.
It is an infringement for the thrower to touch the ball a second time before another player has touched it; this is punishable by an indirect free kick to the opposing team from where the offence occurred, unless the second touch was also a more serious handling offence, in which case it is punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick.
If a player appears to take a throw-in but suddenly leaves it to a teammate to take, the player may be cautioned for delaying the restart of play. Any player who excessively delays the restart of play may also be cautioned.
A goalkeeper cannot handle a ball thrown directly by a teammate. The keeper cannot circumvent this by using the feet before handling the ball. An indirect free kick is awarded if this infringement occurs within the goalkeeper's penalty area, and a direct free kick is awarded if the infringement occurs outside the goalkeeper's penalty area.
History
Before 1863
A detailed description of an early predecessor of the throw-in is recorded in the novel Tom Brown's School Days, published in 1857 but based on the author's experiences at Rugby School from 1834 to 1842:Several features of these passages are notable:
- possession is awarded to the first player to touch the ball after it goes out of play
- the ball must be played "straight out"
- the player must "knock" or "strike" the ball back into play
Similar "throw-in" laws are found in the Cambridge rules of 1856, the Sheffield rules of 1858, the laws of Melbourne FC, and indeed the original FA laws of 1863.
Other codes had a kick-in rather than a throw-in. These included the "Foot-Ball Club" of Edinburgh, Harrow football, Barnes FC, Blackheath FC, and the later Cambridge rules from November 1863. Some of these laws permitted the ball to be kicked in any direction, while others required that it be perpendicular to the touch-line. At Harrow, the ball could be kicked in by "any bystanders" or player.
The Eton field game's rules, as recorded in 1847, specified that a throw-in and a "bully" should be used alternately, while its 1857 rules used the bully exclusively.
The FA laws of 1863
At its second meeting, on 10 November 1863, the Football Association agreed that "when the ball is out of bounds it should be kicked or thrown in straight by the person who should first touch it down." The first draft of the game's laws reflected this decision, but the option of a kick-in was removed before the final version of the laws was adopted on 8 December 1863.This left the 1863 throw-in law very similar to those of Rugby School and Sheffield described earlier:
The throw-in from the 1863 rules features several differences from the throw-in in modern association football:
- possession is awarded to the first player to touch the ball after it goes out of play
- the ball must be thrown perpendicular to the touch-line
- the manner in which the ball is thrown is not specified
Subsequent developments
Unity with Sheffield rules
In 1867, the laws of the Sheffield Football Association awarded the throw-in against the team kicking the ball out of play. In 1868, these Sheffield rules were revised to award a kick-in instead of a throw-in. It continued to be awarded against the team that kicked the ball into touch and could now be played in any direction.In 1873, Nottingham Forest F.C. proposed a change in the FA's throw-in law to make it more similar to the Sheffield rule: the throw-in would be awarded against the team who kicked out of play, and a kick-in could optionally replace it. The FA's meeting approved only part of the suggested change: the throw-in would be awarded against the team that kicked the ball out of play, but a kick-in could not replace it. It was still required to be thrown perpendicular to the touch-line.
At the FA meetings of 1875 and 1876, the Sheffield clubs attempted to introduce their kick-in into the FA's laws. Both times, the change was narrowly rejected after a heated debate. Matters came to a head in 1877. At the regular meeting of the FA, in February, the Sheffield Association again proposed its kick-in rule, while Clydesdale FC proposed a compromise rule which retained the throw-in but allowed it to go in any direction. The Sheffield Association agreed to withdraw its proposal in favour of Clydesdale FC's compromise. However, even this compromise proposal was rejected, "to the intense regret of those who desired one common code of rules." This rejection prompted the publication of a pseudonymous letter in The Sportsman decrying the "hasty, ill-judged decision... bringing the Football Association into disrepute," and denying that it represented "the general body of Association players – even of those in London." A subsequent extraordinary general meeting of the FA was held on 17 April, at which the Clydesdale amendment was reconsidered and passed. As a result of this change in the FA laws, the Sheffield Association held a meeting one week later at which it agreed to abandon its own rules and accept the FA laws.
As a result of these developments, the throw-in of 1877 looked quite similar to today's: it was awarded against the team who kicked the ball out of play, and it could be thrown in any direction. There was no restriction on the technique by which the ball could be thrown; players would throw the ball great distances using only one arm. It is reported that the England international Norman Bailey could propel the ball "from the centre of the ground into the goal mouth."
Unity with Scotland
The International Football Conference of December 1882 addressed discrepancies between the laws used by the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish football associations. One of the topics settled at this conference was the throw-in: in April 1882, at the proposal of the Third Lanark club, the Scottish FA had changed its rugby-style throw-in law to the version in use today, i.e. thrown in any direction, but with two hands over the head; while the English laws, as described above, allowed the ball to be thrown with one hand in any direction. As a result of the conference, the Scottish version of the throw-in law was accepted. This new throw-in law, requiring the ball to be thrown from over the head with two hands, was formally adopted by the FA in 1883.Scoring a goal from a throw-in
The game's laws have never permitted a goal to be scored directly from a throw-in by the attacking team. In 1882, a change in the laws, introduced by Nicholas Lane Jackson of Finchley FC and Morton Betts of Old Harrovians FC, made it possible to score an own goal directly from a throw-in. This possibility was removed in 1898.In 2002, Aston Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman scored an own goal from a team-mate's throw-back to him when he misscontrolled the ball, but appeared to touch it slightly with his foot before it crossed the line, though Enkelman denied this. The incident received widespread media attention because it occurred in an important Birmingham derby match in the Premier League.