Lads way offside

Lads? Did you hear about last week's survey in England which revealed that football supporters of the non-boy variety have a …

Lads? Did you hear about last week's survey in England which revealed that football supporters of the non-boy variety have a much firmer grip and understanding of the offside rule than boy supporters? Seriously. When asked to explain the rule 68 per cent of women got it spot on, while a miserable, nay embarrassing and humiliating, 47 per cent of men got it entirely and utterly WRONG. Guffaw. A none-too-impressed chap-on-the-street was asked by a BBC evening news reporter for his comment on this revelation. "Well, they fink they know everything, dunnay, so why stop at the offside rule," he said. Exactly.

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan is a sports writer with The Irish Times