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A football throw-in cannot score a goal directly
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Photo: Santeri Viinamäki · CC BY-SA 4.0
The short answer
A throw-in that enters the opponents’ goal without touching another player produces a goal kick, not a goal. If it enters the thrower’s own goal directly, the opponents receive a corner kick.
Why it's true
Throw-ins restart play after the whole ball crosses a touchline. The restart belongs to the opponents of the player who last touched it. The ball can cross the line in the air or on the ground; the test concerns the whole ball, not merely its contact point with the grass.
The thrower faces the field and delivers the ball with both hands from behind and over the head. Part of each foot must be on the touchline or on the ground outside it at delivery. A long throw is not a different legal category from a short one: both must satisfy the same basic procedure.
By the numbers
2
Hands required for delivery
2 m
Minimum opponent distance
0
Goals allowed directly
How we know
IFAB Law 15 states both outcomes explicitly. An untouched throw into the opponents’ goal produces a goal kick; an untouched throw into the thrower’s own goal produces a corner kick. The rule does not merely cancel the apparent goal and ask the referee to choose a convenient restart.
The word directly is the hinge. If another player touches the ball, the event is no longer a throw travelling directly into goal. A legal goal can then result, provided no other offence intervenes. The difference between a fingertip contact and a complete miss can therefore reverse the correct decision.
Worth remembering
- Untouched into the opponents’ goal means goal kick.
- Untouched into your own goal means corner.
- A real player touch changes the scoring sequence.
In context
Long throws can still be effective attacks because they put the ball into a crowded penalty area where a header, deflection or goalkeeper touch can create a legal scoring sequence. Their danger does not contradict the ban on direct goals. The tactic relies on what happens after delivery rather than on treating the throw itself as a shot.
The direct-goal rule should also be separated from goalkeeper handling restrictions. A goalkeeper cannot handle a ball received directly from a team-mate’s throw-in without risking an indirect free kick. If an apparent saving touch is involved, the referee must apply the relevant offence and advantage rules rather than assuming that every touch is equally lawful.
A closer look
The goalkeeper’s awkward decision
Imagine a long attacking throw that sails towards goal. If the goalkeeper leaves it untouched and it enters the goal directly, no goal is scored: the defending team receives a goal kick. If the goalkeeper gets a touch and it then enters, the direct-scoring prohibition no longer protects the defending team. Other possible infringements still have to be considered.
That makes replay evidence unusually important. A camera angle showing a glove close to the ball is not proof of contact, while a small real touch can be decisive even if it barely alters the flight. The legal question is whether another player touched the ball, not whether the goalkeeper made a convincing attempt to save it.
At the other end, a defender’s throw towards their own goalkeeper cannot become an own goal without another player touching it. An untouched ball entering that goal gives the opponents a corner. If the goalkeeper touches it and the ball enters, that direct-own-goal exception no longer settles the case in the defending team’s favour.
A throw-in is a restart, not a free overhead pass
The whole ball must cross the touchline, on the ground or in the air, before a throw-in is awarded to the opponents of the last player who touched it. At delivery the thrower faces the field and uses both hands to bring the ball from behind and over the head. Part of each foot must be on the touchline or on the ground outside it.
The ball comes into play when it enters the field. Opponents must remain at least two metres from the point on the touchline where the throw is taken. The thrower cannot play it again before another player touches it. These are distinct requirements: a correct overhead motion does not authorise the thrower to collect the ball and start dribbling.
If the ball touches the ground before entering the field, the same team retakes from the same position. A throw performed incorrectly instead gives the throw-in to the opponents. This distinction matters when a short delivery drops outside the line. A ball that fails to enter is not automatically the same legal event as an illegal throwing action.
Related facts
Contrast the throw-in with a restart that expressly permits a direct goal against the opponents. You can score directly from a goal kick against the other team.
Football likewise separates a player’s position from the later action that creates an offence. Being in an offside position is not itself an offence.
Another scoring comparison turns on bat contact and the journey to cricket’s boundary. A boundary six requires the ball to have been struck by the bat.
Rugby’s wind provision illustrates why a later movement does not necessarily undo a completed score. A rugby goal still counts if the wind blows it back after crossing.
Key terms
- Direct throw-in goal
- Direct throw into opponents’ goal: goal kick, not goal.
- Own-goal throw-in
- Direct throw into own goal: opponents’ corner.
People also ask
What happens if a throw goes straight into the opposing goal?
The defending team receives a goal kick. No goal is awarded when the ball enters directly from the throw without another player touching it.
What if it goes straight into the thrower’s goal?
The opponents receive a corner kick, not an own goal. That specific outcome depends on the ball entering directly, with no intervening player touch.
Can a goalkeeper’s touch change the outcome?
Yes. A touch means the ball has not entered directly from the throw, so a goal may be possible. The referee must still consider any separate offence in the sequence.
Where must the thrower’s feet be?
Part of each foot must be on the touchline or on the ground outside the touchline when the ball is delivered. Both hands and the prescribed behind-and-over-the-head motion are also required.
Can the thrower immediately play the ball?
Not before another player touches it. A second touch by the thrower is a separate infringement from trying to score directly, even if the initial throw was otherwise legal.
