I’m afraid this thread is going to be a reprise of earlier threads, and not much use to wrighty.
Have to say that I'm with Phil here, (we have discussed this before OB) Where the player lands if he catches the ball in the air should make it easier for all to make the call!
We have indeed discussed it before, and I have even produced my own version of the opening definitions in Law 19 in an attempt to clarify the issues and point out areas of doubt.
I asked if Phil E’s view was official because I am not aware of an authoritative pronouncement. If there is one, I will of course go along with it, whether I agree with it or not, but until one appears, we are simply giving our own views on what is most definitely an unclear law. The only reference to a player in the air is[LAWS]If a player jumps and catches the ball, both feet must land in the playing area otherwise the ball is in touch or touch-in-goal.[/LAWS]
If the player is still holding the ball when he lands in touch, then we would all agree the ball is in touch, but we will not necessarily agree as to who put it there if he had not crossed the plane before the catch. The law does not tell us, so we have to make up our own minds.
Let me restate the situation I alluded to earlier:
Blue have a penalty on their own 22, 5m from touch. The kicker tries for as much length as he can, and so the ball travels almost parallel to the touchline, eventually crossing the line well downfield. Left alone it would drop less than a metre in touch, and we often see a player carefully standing with his feet in play, trying to catch the ball or knock it back into play. However it would surely make more sense (if permitted) for the player to start in touch, run and jump to catch the ball and land in the field of play. It would not even matter if he failed to make a catch – the ball would surely be ruled in touch, so he lost nothing. Yet nobody tries it.
As Womble says, judging where the player lands is much easier than judging where he is the air, but it leads to odd results. My own studies lead me to the conclusion that the optimum solution is to treat a player in the air as if he were on the ground immediately below him.