Can You Score A Goal DIRECTLY From A Throw In? (Explained)

Last updated on October 19th, 2022

You may have seen some incredible long throws before.

So far, most of the goals have been scored with the throw in being an assist.

This may make you wonder, can you actually score a goal directly from a throw in?

Can you score a goal from a throw in?

You are unable to score a goal directly from a throw in during a football match. The goal will be disallowed and either a goal kick or corner kick will be awarded. This depends on which goal the ball goes into. However, it is possible to score a goal where the throw in is an assist.

The Laws of the Game state this very clearly in Law 15:

A goal cannot be scored directly from a throw-in

IFAB

So long as you perform a throw-in and the ball enters directly into the goal, it will not be counted!

However, if another player touches the ball, it will be counted as a goal!

This is because the laws only mention that you cannot score directly from a throw-in. Once another player touches the ball, this law no longer stands!

What happens when a goal is scored directly from a throw-in?

If the ball does go into the goal directly from a throw-in, the Laws have stated what will happen as well:

If the ball enters the opponents’ goal – a goal kick is awarded; if the ball enters the thrower’s goal – a corner kick is awarded

IFAB

The Laws of the Game covers both scenarios: whether you throw the ball into your own net or in the opponent’s net.

Result	Consequence
Opponent’s goal	Goal kick
Own goal	Corner kick to opponent

This means that you cannot score an own goal from a throw in as well! A corner kick will be awarded to your opponent if that happens.

For example, this massive throw from Megan Campbell was disallowed, because it went directly into the goal!

Why can’t you score directly from a throw in?

Scoring direct from a throw results in you using your hands to score the goal.

It will be considered as a handball offence, since the ball went into the net after coming directly from your hands.

In the Laws of the Game, this rule regarding handball was mentioned:

It is an offence if a player scores in the opponents’ goal directly from their hand/arm, even if accidental, including by the goalkeeper

IFAB

As such it is deemed as unfair to score a goal using your hands! The game of football is all about using your legs, so it wouldn’t make sense if you scored a goal from your hands!

Interestingly, this law also applies when you throw the ball into your net. However, nothing is mentioned in the handball laws regarding using your hands that leads to an own goal.

To make things fair, goalkeepers can’t throw the ball into their opponent’s net too! The only way that a goalkeeper can score a goal is by using their legs or head.

You can score so long as someone else touches the ball

So long as another player on the pitch touches the ball before it goes into the net, it will be counted as a goal.

This is why long-throw assists are allowed in the game!

However, the ball has to cross the goal-line entirely to be considered as a goal!

In this match against Everton (2008/09), Rory Delap showed everyone why he’s the long throw specialist.

He threw the ball all the way from the sidelines, which caused confusion in the penalty box. The ball was flicked on by Phil Jagielka into his own net!

It is possible for defenders and even goalkeepers to score goals too.

This is why the goal was awarded, as Jagielka touched the ball before it went in.

Can you score from a throw in if the keeper touches it?

You are able to score a goal from a throw in if the keeper touches the ball before it enters the net. This is because you are no longer scoring a goal directly from a throw in. From the Laws of the Game, the goal will be awarded to your team.

Here are 2 examples where this has occurred in a match:

#1 Ron-Robert Zieler vs Werder Bremen (2018/19)

In this match for VFB Stuttgart, Borna Sosa threw the ball to his goalkeeper, Ron-Robert Zieler.

Zieler was unaware that his defender was throwing the ball to him. This led him to try and control the ball, but it rolled into the net!

If Zieler did not touch the ball and let it just roll into the net, the goal would not have stood! Instead, a corner kick would have been awarded to Werder Bremen instead.

This is a rather interesting loophole that is found in the Laws of the Game!

#2 Peter Enckelman vs Birmingham City (2002/03)

In a similar situation, Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg threw the ball towards his goalkeeper, Peter Enckelman.

Enckelman tried to control the ball and failed, and the ball rolled into the net too!

Again, you can see that Enckelman touched the ball while trying to control it. Since he failed to control the ball and it went into the net, the goal was counted!

Can you score an own goal from a throw in?

According to the Laws of the Game, you are unable to score an own goal directly from a throw in. If you throw the ball directly into your own net without any other player touching the ball, no goal will be awarded. Instead, a corner kick will be awarded to the opponent instead.

This is in line with what was mentioned in Law 15, where a goal cannot be scored directly from a throw in!

What happens if a throw-in goes in the goal?

If you perform a throw-in which results in the ball going into your opponent’s goal, your opponent will be awarded with a goal kick. If you throw the ball into your own goal, your opponent will be awarded with a corner kick instead.

These rules were explicitly mentioned in Law 15 in the Laws of the Game.

Conclusion

A goal cannot be scored directly from a throw in. However if it touches any player before going into the net, the goal will stand.

Otherwise, a goal kick or corner kick will be awarded, depending on which goal the ball goes into!

To find out more about throw-ins, you can check out this guide here.

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