Forget about being from Mars or Venus, the biggest difference between men and women is their ability to comprehend the offside rule. Chris Harding finally lets women in on the secret.

First introduced to make football a fairer, more interesting game to watch, the offside rule has had many, many critics - and amendments - over the years. Ask anyone to explain how it works, though, and you will find even the most avid football fan reaching for salt and pepper pots, pint glasses and a screwed-up napkin.

Here goes...The thing about it is that no one can really explain the rule properly on paper, although some have tried. For one of the best in-depth descriptions visit Soccer Coach-L

The following is an explanation by the South Belt Youth Soccer Club :

A player is in an offside position if he is nearer to his opponent's goal line than the ball unless:

He is in his own half of the field.

He is not nearer to the opponent's goal line than at least two of his opponents.

A player will only be declared offside if, at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his own team, in the opinion of the referee that player is:

Interfering with the play or with an opponent.

Seeking to gain an advantage by being in that position.

A player will not be declared offside:

Merely because of his being in an offside position.

If he receives the ball directly from a goal kick, corner kick, or throw-in.

If a player is declared offside, the referee will award an indirect free kick to be taken by the opposing team from the place where the offside occurred.

Offside will be judged from the moment the ball is played, NOT when the player receives the ball. A player who is level with the second last opponent or with the last two opponents is NOT in an offside position.

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The offside rule: or the most complicated thing in football