The penalty is generally assessed by the referee that is on ice and is up to their judgment to decide whether the penalty was a cross-check or something else. For example, at the 2014 Sochi Olympics Women's Gold Medal Game between Canada and USA, Hilary Knight of the USA team was assessed a cross-checking penalty on Canada forward Hayley Wickenheiser. The call caused uproar from both benches, while the Canada bench thought it was tripping and there should have been a penalty shot, the USA bench felt that it was not a cross check. The discretion of the referee decides whether or not a cross-check is to be called.