Former Premier League referee Bobby Madley has announced his return to English football 18 months after he was sacked for gross misconduct following a “dark private joke”.
Madley was dismissed in August 2018 after he posted a video in which he mocked a person with a disability.
The 34-year-old swiftly relocated to Norway, where he took up a position officiating in the Norwegian system.
But the manner of his quick departure led to wild and false online rumours about his relations with a dog, which Madley says caused him “mental torture” as he sought to rebuild his reputation.
“Eighteen months ago I lost my dream job as a professional football referee due my own regrettable, naive and stupid actions,” wrote Madley in his blog The Referee’s Word.
“I am delighted however that I have been given the opportunity to return to referee in the professional game in England.
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
“The public response to my story was incredibly humbling. I never sought sympathy my actions nor for the resulting decision taken by my previous employers and that was not the purpose of the post, it was purely to help myself to move forward mentally.
“The messages I received from people I don’t know who used that platform to share their own stories with me were incredible.
“I found myself in tears reading them because it was clear that many of these messages were done with the same intention as my own, to help themselves mentally move on from a difficult period of their own lives and to just talk about it.
(Image: Getty Images)
“I have learned so much about myself over the last 18 months but I have also found out just how important friends and family are in the darkest times.
“Their love and support has been unwavering, especially that of my mum, brother and my incredible partner Jenny and her family and that has undoubtedly helped me through that period.”
Madley will now return to England and referee non-league matches for the remainder of the season, before taking up a place as a National List Referee in Leagues One and Two from the start of the 2020/21 campaign.
