066 Prof John McKendrick: refereeing where it started, warmups, red cards, Michael Palin & child poverty
JOHN McKENDRICK is a referee who got his break in the juniors before taking charge of over 300 senior games. But after retiring from top level football he wasn’t finished - and wanted to go back to where it all began. Now every weekend you’ll find John – Professor John to give him his full title - as a man in the middle somewhere in the West of Scotland League. John joins us on the show this week and reveals just how good a grounding junior football was – AND explains why he’s not prepared to hang up his whistle just yet. If you happen to be at one of his games you can look out for his legendary warmup, which he tells us all about. We hear whether referees really take notice of their ratings in the papers – and why there is a shortage of officials right now. There’s also the time he held up the injury time board without realising the batteries were flat – and just how many red cards he dished out. Plus there’s the day he got lost going to an orienteering competition, how Michael Palin inspired him to cycle to Nepal and his passion for ending child poverty. It’s all here as we go Down The Divisions. We'd like to give a quick mention to our sponsors FortyFour Creative. They have a team of highly skilled and passionate photographers, graphic designers, videographers and video editors to help promote your content, brand, organisation or event. They make creation personal. Find out more at www.fortyfourcreativehq.comIf you have any comments we'd love to hear from you. Likewise if you're at a club who would like your post-match audio featured on the show then do get in touch. You can email [email protected] or contact us through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Down The Divisions logo design Adam Aitken Intro and outro music Bensound