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Laying down the rules – former referee John Rowbotham meets our Glenrothes club!

Our Glenrothes club welcomed another special as they welcomed former Scottish and international referee John Rowbotham to their club in September.

In his career, John took control of some of the biggest games in Scotland, having been in charge of 13 Old Firm derbies and over 50 international games, with John joining our group in Glenrothes to share his insights into the game.

John, who was often compared to Italian referee Pierluigi Collina during his career, was on great form as he detailed his 18-years as a Grade 1 referee and bringing to life the experiences of being a referee in some of the fiercest and competitive games.

The Glenrothes group were delighted to have John join them following their recent meeting with former Scotland manager Craig Levein in July, as it has given them a broad perspective of Scottish football from a management and now officiating perspective.

Gary Waddell, Group Delivery and Practice Coordinator for Sporting Memories Scotland, said: “It was brilliant to have John join our Glenrothes group and get his insight into refereeing some of the biggest matches across Scotland, as well as being involved in games across Europe and beyond.

“Our members seemed to really enjoy listening to John’s experiences but I think it also brought back memories for them of classic games of the past including games they were at as well.

“I’d like to thank John for giving up his time to come and speak and we hope we can get him along to some more clubs in the future!”