Separate the contact patch from the ball’s full width
Imagine a ball rolling beside the touchline with part of its curved shape still over the line. Its ground-contact point may be outside the painted area while some of the ball still overlaps the boundary. The whole-ball test asks about the entire ball, not just the patch touching the grass.
This is why a freeze-frame showing grass between the ball’s base and the line can be misleading from an oblique angle. Perspective can hide the overhanging portion. A useful camera view must establish the relationship of the full ball to the boundary plane.
The same crossing principle applies in the air
A ball can wholly cross the touchline without landing outside. Conversely, a high ball that appears outside from one viewpoint may still overlap the line. Waiting for a bounce is not part of the basic whole-ball crossing requirement.
A player standing outside the field can also play a ball that remains in play, subject to other applicable rules. The player’s feet and the ball’s boundary status are different questions. A camera focused on the player’s boots may therefore fail to show the decisive evidence.
Do not confuse boundary status with every reason for a stoppage
Law 9 also recognizes play being stopped by the referee and specific match-official contact situations. A whistle can stop play even if the ball has not crossed a boundary. The whole-ball test explains the line decision; it is not the only route by which play can become dead.
For a replay note, distinguish ball location, referee stoppage and restart decision. If the angle cannot establish whether the entire ball crossed, say the view is inconclusive rather than inventing certainty from one edge of the image.
This is particularly useful when reviewing an attacking move near the goal line before a pass back into the field. The later shot does not answer whether the earlier ball remained in play. Follow the complete sequence and the official ruling, using the best available line view rather than the most dramatic camera angle.
Related questions
Must the ball land outside to be out?
No. It is out when it wholly crosses the boundary, including in the air.
Sources and scope
Scope notes distinguish published documentation, supplied information and editorial methods. They do not report a hands-on service test.
- IFAB Law9 — Whole-ball boundary crossing on ground/inair and other out-of-play causes
