[ayso45-refs] Where to draw the line? (Regarding when the ball is in play after a restart)

[Beau James]

The following questions were sent in by one of our refs, who suggested 
that the answers might be of interest to the list.  So, here goes ...

Keep in mind the basic principle that the line, no matter what it's 
width, is part of the area that it encloses.

> The rules seem to focus on a ball going out of play only. And, the 
> references to ball in play are too vague.
>
> The focus of all of these questions pertains to the fact that our 
> field lines are 4-5" wide and the ball is ??" wide and has only a 
> small part of it touching the field surface.
>
> 1) Throw-In: Ball is in-play when???
> eg. Any part of the ball touches/crosses the plane made by the outside 
> part of the line?

Yes, after the ball has been released by the thrower.  That is, the 
thrower's motion may carry some part of the ball across the plane of the 
outside edge of the touchline; the ball is not in play until it has been 
both (1) released and (2) some portion of the ball has touched or 
crossed the plane of the outside edge of the touchline

One of the most crisp explanations can be found at 
"http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~dgraham/lotg/law09.html":


        Commentary

    ...

    The soccer field (pitch) may be imagined as a three dimensional box
    with invisible vertical planes rising from the outside of the two
    touch-lines and the outside of the two goal-lines. As long as the
    ball is within those invisible planes or is in contact with one of
    those planes, it is not out. It must entirely leave the box to be out.

    ...


            9.12 A player restarting the game with a throw-in throws the
            ball down the touchline and it lands out of play. Sometimes
            the referee lets the player retake the throw-in; other times
            he awards a throw-in to the other team. Why?

    If, in the opinion of the referee, the ball entered the field (that
    is, at least some part of the ball crossed over the outside edge of
    the touch line), then the ball was properly thrown into play and
    then subsequently curved out of bounds. Thus the ball left the field
    and was last touched by the thrower and a throw-in is now awarded to
    the opposite team.

    However, if, in the opinion of the referee, the ball did not enter
    the field, a throw-in did not occur. The ball is returned to the
    thrower so that he/she may restart the game..

> 2) Corner-Kick: The ball must be set...eg. completely inside the plane 
> made by the outside part of the arc-line?

For this one, we turn to Jim Allen, the USSF answerman and one of the 
authors/editors of the ATR:

    PLACEMENT OF THE BALL ON CORNER KICKS
    Your question:
    [Note: This question has been abridged to be more readily
    understandable.]
    The Law states the ball has to be within the corner arc, this is
    ambiguous. What does this mean?

    Does it mean that a portion of the ball can be outside the corner
    arc as long as the circumference of the ball is over the top of the
    line or touching the plane of the line? Is this still considered to
    be inside the corner arc, even though the ball is not in physical
    contact with the line? Or does it mean that the ball has be
    physically touching a blade of white grass to be considered in the
    corner arc?

    I have read the LAWs of the GAME and advice to the referees 2005 and
    2006 several times and discussed it with highly experienced refs and
    it is not clear, at least not to me.

    I have looked at the illustrations in the FIFA LAWS and the ADVICE
    booklets. The illustrations for corner arc appear to match the
    illustrations for ball out of play (touchline and goal line), goal
    area for goal kicks and illustration for a goal scored and the foot
    over the WHOLE line for illegal throw in. Each of these
    illustrations and all the situations I know of in soccer always
    consider the WHOLE ball and the WHOLE LINE.

    If the corner arc is different, please explain why this different
    ruling is logical or makes sense in the game?

    If I said a corner kick must be inside the corner arc area would I
    be correct? If so does that mean it has to touch the line of the
    corner arc or the touchline or goal line or just the corner arc?

    USSF answer (September 20, 2006):
    Short answer: At a corner kick the ball must be inside the arc,
    which means it may not rest outside the arc and thus simply break
    the plane of the line(s).

    Long answer: Putting the ball into play from a corner kick is quite
    different from judging the ball to be either in or out of play over
    a boundary line. These are two different concepts and are covered in
    several different Laws. There is absolutely no ambiguity in Law 17.

    Law 9 tells us that the ball is out of play when it has wholly
    crossed the goal line or touch line whether on the ground or in the
    air or when play has been stopped by the referee, and that the ball
    is in play at all other times. That obviously has nothing to do with
    restarts.

    Law 17 requires the ball to be "placed inside the corner arc." If it
    is on the ground outside the arc, it is not inside the arc, no
    matter that it may break the plane of that arc.

    The requirement is not quite the same for goal kicks, at which the
    ball may simply break the plane of the line to be ready to put into
    play. Why? Because Law 16 requires only that the ball be kicked from
    any point within the goal area. Law 15 does not deal with the line
    and when the ball is in play with regard to the line, as the ball
    may still be in the hands of the thrower as it crosses the line and
    enters the field before it has been released into play.

    As to enforcing the placement, although we have now made clear what
    the Law technically says about ball placement on a corner kick, the
    practical referee question must always be, "so what?"  Consider an
    incorrect placement of the ball as a trifling offense unless it
    REALLY made a difference.

> 3) Goal-Kick: The ball must be set...

... so that some part of the ball breaks the plane of the goal area 
line.  See Jim's answer, above.

> 4) Goal-Kick: The ball is in-play when it _______ the penalty area line.


"completely crosses".  Law 16 states:

    * The ball is in play when it is kicked directly beyond the penalty
    area.

The penalty area line is part of the penalty area. The ball cannot be 
"beyond" the penalty area until all of the ball has completely crossed 
all of the penalty area line.

But see also the final paragraph in Jim Allen's response.  At what point 
is a few inches difference not "trifling"?

> 4) Goalkeeper Handling: If the goalkeeper is handling the ball and 
> moving to the edge of the penalty area, at what point is the ball 
> determined to be outside the penalty area? eg. The goalkeeper is now 
> charged with a handball if he still is handling the ball. 


The answer must be the same as the response to the previous question: 
"...when all of the ball has completely crossed all of the [penalty 
area] line", i.e. the plane of the outside edge of the penalty area line.

Beau
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