Yesterday, while refereeing a U-12 boys' game, I had to call a PK, and it finally happened—the moment I've been waiting for . . . the moment I warned my players about when I coached—but I don't think the particular scenario ever happened, either when I was playing or coaching . . . until yesterday: I ushered all the players but the kicker outside of the penalty arc; I warned the goalie to stay on his line; I blew the whistle; the kicker took the kick, and it went high, over the keeper's outstretched hands—but the keeper did NOT touch the ball—and then the ball caromed off the crossbar right back to the PK kicker, and he shot it again, and I jubilantly blew the whistle and called a "double touch on a direct kick violation"-- the crossbar is essentially part of the field, and once you kick a direct kick, you can't touch the ball again until another PLAYER touches the ball . . . the crossbar does not count as a player, and so I awarded an indirect free kick to the defense and quickly explained the rule to the poor PK kicker, who thought he was going to get another shot on goal, and the experienced old Polish guy, who was the AR that game, raised his flag when it all went down and he told me I called it "perfectly."
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