Question: Last year a Foul committed as a ball was about to be inbounded was always an unsportsmanlike foul resulting in free throws and Possession. Recently a referee indicated that this rule had changed. To what has the FIBA rule changed for this situation?
Answer: The interpretation can be found in the FIBA 2010 Official Interpretations under Article 36, Unsportsmanlike Foul, Statement 1:
During the last two (2) minutes of the fourth period and during the last two (2) minutes of each extra period, the ball is out-of-bounds for a Throw-in and still in the hands of the official or already at the disposal of the player taking the throw-in. If at this moment a defensive player on the playing court causes contact with a player of the offensive team on the playing court and a foul is called, it is an unsportsmanlike foul.
The previous rule stated that this type of foul must be an unsportsmanlike foul at any time during the game. FIBA has changed this to the last two minutes of the 4th and the last two minutes of each extra period.
Answer: The interpretation can be found in the FIBA 2010 Official Interpretations under Article 36, Unsportsmanlike Foul, Statement 1:
During the last two (2) minutes of the fourth period and during the last two (2) minutes of each extra period, the ball is out-of-bounds for a Throw-in and still in the hands of the official or already at the disposal of the player taking the throw-in. If at this moment a defensive player on the playing court causes contact with a player of the offensive team on the playing court and a foul is called, it is an unsportsmanlike foul.
The previous rule stated that this type of foul must be an unsportsmanlike foul at any time during the game. FIBA has changed this to the last two minutes of the 4th and the last two minutes of each extra period.