Bobby Madley, the former Premier League referee, has said he will be returning to the professional game in England 18 months after he was sacked for a video in which he mocked a disabled person. Madley lost his “dream job” in August 2018 when he was dismissed for gross misconduct on grounds of discrimination after filming the video, which he has since described as a “dark-humoured joke”. The 34-year-old relocated to Norway following his sacking but he has now accepted an opportunity to return to the English game. He will be officiating lower-league matches in England for the remainder of this campaign before taking charge of League One and League Two games next season. Madley said it was “never a possibility” that he would go straight back into Premier League refereeing because of the introduction of VAR and the training he has missed since leaving the country. In a blog post, Madley said he has also agreed to attend an FA discrimination workshop as he reiterated his regret at his actions in 2018. “Eighteen months ago I lost my dream job as a professional football referee due to my own regrettable, naive and stupid actions,” Madley said. “I am delighted however that I have been given the opportunity to return to referee in the professional game in England. “I’ve been away from the Premier League for what will be two years come the new season so a return to that level was never a possibility. With the introduction of VAR and the many hours of training missed it would not have been reasonable to expect that. “I know how hard that road is to referee at the top but I have the desire and passion to work hard to achieve my potential whatever that may be. I still have dreams that I thought were dead but for me they are now very much alive.” In December, Madley explained that he had texted a video to a friend in which he mocked a disabled person before his daughter’s sports day, saying that he “had a chance of winning the parents race this year”. He said his subsequent sacking had caused “immeasurable damage” to his family life. In his blog post on Thursday, titled A New Chapter, he wrote that he has been humbled by the response to his story and described how refereeing in Norway helped him to maintain a “sense of identity” amid his personal struggles. “I now simply go back to being that ‘(you fill in the blank) in the black’ on a weekly basis,” Madley said. “Hopefully if nothing else people have been able to see that referees are just normal people with normal emotions, families and feelings. Abuse can lead to mental health issues and referees are not immune to that, especially outside the professional game. “I’m sorry that my actions fell way below the professional standard expected of me but having the chance to redeem myself is an opportunity, journey and challenge that I am looking forward to taking.”