LOL, never. How many times has Fowler been the best anything in the world? hmmm.. how many caps did he score for his country... Not even Liverpool want him these days.

but since only Raina and I feel that way

Grats to AC but big slaps to the whistle happy ref

Would have put money on the free-kick being a hand-ball (off Inzaghi's arm). but since only Raina and I feel that way, I accept the score.

Remember, it is ref's optional time. He doesn't have to agree with the 4th dude.

It was off the shoulder/upper part of the arm, and to the best of my knowledge that isn't considered handball. Of course I could be wrong on that.

Also, Liverpool's goal could've been offside. I need to check some replays to confirm, so it could have been 1 - 0 if both goals were disallowed.

It was a game that could have gone either way, but naturally I am happy it went the way it did.

Strangely, the term "Hand Ball" is commonly used, but is not defined in the official FIFA rules. It is a "direct kick foul" if a player (other than the goalkeeper inside his own penalty area) deliberately handles the ball (meaning to deliberately touch the ball with any part of the arm from the finger tips to the top of the shoulder). If the player handles it for the purpose of preventing an opponent from gaining possession, it is a "cautionable offense" and a yellow card should be given. If a player deliberately handles the ball to deny an obvious goal scoring opportunity (e.g., to prevent a breakaway or to deliberately stop a shot), a red card should be given and the player "sent off". However, a hand ball foul should not be called if: (1) a player is instinctively trying to protect himself from injury or (2) the player did not deliberately touch the ball but the ball hit his arm & he did not move the arm toward the ball (however, if the player's arms were in an unnatural position such as above his shoulders or sticking out to the sides, then he should be called for a handball). (See "Fouls").

What makes the offside rule especially complicated is that a player can be in an "offside position" without being offside. Two things are necessary to be "offside":
1st - The player must be in an "offside position" at the moment the ball is "played" by a teammate. To be in an "offside position", a player must be on the opponent's half of the field & closer to the opponent's goal line than both the ball & the second-last defender. A player is not in an offside position if he is on his own half of the field (i.e. the half his goalkeeper is on), or even with the second-to-last defender or the last 2 defenders. (The goalkeeper is usually the last defender, or one of the last two, but he might not be; the rules just refer to the last 2 defenders & don't mention the goalkeeper). This is often difficult to call. (For example, if a player is even with the Second Last Defender & thereby in an "onside position" but runs past the Second Last Defender a split second after his teammate makes a through pass. In this example, the player is not offside because he was in an onside position at the moment the ball was played.)


2nd - The player must be involved in "active play" by either:

gaining an advantage by being in an offside position, or

interfering with play, or

interfering with an opponent

For example, if a player is in an "offside position" but not involved in the play, he would not be "offside". This can be a tough call & can be very judgmental. For example, what if the "onball attacker" is to the right of the goal but a teammate is in an "offside position" to the left of the goal? You can argue that the teammate wasn't involved in the play, but you can also argue that he distracted the goalkeeper because the goalkeeper had to worry about the possibility of a crossing pass & therefore the attacking team "gained an advantage by being in an offside position", in which case the teammate was "offside". In this case, the Referee's decision might depend on whether he felt the Goalkeeper was influenced by the player in the offside position. Obviously, it is a very subjective decision.