One for the Ref's

It's been 20+ years since I've stood in the middle of the field and had to make a call so I usually assume I got something wrong when I question a call. However, saw one this weekend that I'm still not sure what the proper call should be. Hoping one of you current Ref's can give me the ruling on this one:

Scenario: Attacker with ball streaking down left side of field with defender running along side. Attacker enters box and his heading towards touchline. As they approach the touchline it appears defender assumes attacker is going to cut towards goal and he slides for a tackle. Attacker pulls up which results in the defender sliding without making any contact with Attacker or ball. His slide stops with him about 18"-24" from attacker and between the attacker and the goal. Attacker then cuts into the defender and goes down when he makes contact with the motionless defender. Call on the field was "Tripping" and PK was awarded.

Is my old ref brain still in place or am I reading this one wrong. As I saw it defender impeded the attacker by going to ground but did not commit a "Direct" kick foul since he made no attempt to play after going to ground. My call would have been Obstruction and Indirect Kick at spot where attacker contacted defender.

Before anyone asks no parents yelled at ref and this call had no outcome on the game just asking for my own education.

No impeding. First of all, it sounds as if the ball was always within playing distance of both players AND no one was impeding the other player from actually playing the ball. Additionally,your description has the attacker cuttting back INTO the defender! How can you penalize the defender? Whether there was a direct kick (PK) offense is hard to say w/o seeing it, but clearly no impeding.

I personally wouldn't have called a pk based on the description of the play. The defender could lay there all day as long as he didn't make the direct contact with the player. I'm curious what age group?

Not a PK, based on the description.

Thanks for the replies. Age group was '96 and it was an out of town tournament.

I saw a PK given this weekend. The striker was in the attacking box with his back to the goal. The defender came up from behind and stood the player up with a "slight" bump. The striker didn't fall or lose the ball and the ref called a PK on a 0 - 0 game. I would understand if it was a hard hit from behind.
No, I didn't have kid playing I was just out watching some of the Semi final games. You don't give a PK for something that simple.

The original play described by this thread occurred similarly in the
last World Cup. The FIFA ref awarded a PK. I'm sure all of this happened in a fraction of a second. Think about this: if you slide and hit the ball and opponent falls over your leg, good tackle. If you miss the ball and he falls over your leg, he was tripped. If you use your body to undercut your opponent, he was tripped.

Even if you continue with the obstruction argument, which means the ball was not in playing distance, opponent was still tripped and you penalize the greater of the fouls.