Question:
While reading your past answers to questions you said that if a player is more than 1 yd from the touch line during a throw-in it is a violation of the rules. Yet in the Fifa questions and answers 2006 their answer to the question “Is there a maximum distance away from the touch line from which a throw-in may be taken?” is No. Which is the correct answer.USSF answer (March 28, 2007):
You (and many others) have fallen under the spell of the written word, not taking into consideration the meaning behind it. The IFAB (the folks who write the Laws of the Game) and FIFA (the folks who administer the game throughout the world) do not always use precise terminology in either the Laws of the Game or the memoranda which support them. They are very fond of obfuscation, leaving lots of wiggle room to allow the referee to judge acts in their current context. That is why the answer in the Q&A has confused and misled you and others.
By saying, “No,” the Q&A tells us that no, there is no maximum distance, because there is only the single distance of one yard/meter from the correct point on the touchline from which the ball may be delivered and put back into play. Whether the exact distance of the point of putting the ball back into play is only one yard/meter from the actual place where the ball left the field is at the discretion and in the opinion of the referee. Both the discretion and opinion of the referee, as well as the referee’s determination of the distance, are traditional and accepted throughout the world.
