Can A Soccer Player Step On The Line While Throwing The Ball In?

Throw-ins are an important part of getting a soccer game restarted if the ball leaves the field. A referee will indicate a throw-in if the ball leaves either of the longer sides of the field; if the ball goes over the shorter sides of the field where the goals are, the referee will award either a corner kick or a goal kick, depending on which team touched the ball last. If you're taking a throw-in, you can stand on the line as you take it.

Taking a Throw-in

FIFA is the organization governing soccer worldwide, and its "Laws of the Game" lay out the regulations for taking a throw-in. Take the throw-in from the place where the ball originally left the field. You must face the field of play and have part of each of your feet either on the line or on the ground outside the field. Hold the ball with both hands and throw it onto the field from above and behind your head.

Regulations

All other players, from both your own team and the opposition, must be at least two yards from you when you take the throw-in, according to FIFA. Once you've taken the throw-in, you must not touch the ball again until another player has touched it. If you do this, the referee will award either a direct or indirect free kick against you, while infringing the laws in any other way will lead the referee to reverse the throw-in and award it to the opposing team. Unlike a corner kick or a free kick, you cannot score a goal directly from a throw-in.

Long-Throw Technique

Some players have developed techniques that enable them to throw the ball great distances. As of publication, the world record stands at 163 feet, set by English PE teacher Danny Brooks in 2010. Brooks's technique involves launching the ball as part of a somersault, and it would be legal in a game situation because both his feet are on the line when he lets go of the ball. Researchers at Brunel University in England have found that the ideal angle of release for long throws is between 20 and 35 degrees, because the human body finds it easier to apply force at lower, rather than higher, angles.

Tactics

You can adapt your team's tactics to take advantage of a throw-in. Long throw-ins can be difficult for opposing teams to deal with, and can be as good as a corner kick for attacking teams. For example, more than half of the goals scored by English Premier League team Stoke City in the first three months of the 2008-2009 season came from long throw-ins taken by their player Rory Delap. FIFA's laws of the game prescribe that players cannot be offside when a throw-in is taken, meaning that a quickly taken throw-in could give one of your players a chance to score.