Referee: 'Football bash on the head saved my life'
An amateur referee from Sheffield discovered a brain tumour the size of his fist, after being hit on the head by a football during a game.
Melvyn Scarborough aged 55 had been suffering from chronic tiredness and a lack of balance - which his doctors put down to feeling depressed.
But after agreeing to referee a friendly, he was knocked out by a stray ball and sent to hospital where a CT scan revealed the tumour. Melvyn said: "They must have thought they'd killed the referee because when I fell down I smashed all my teeth at the bottom." Melvyn hopes to return as a referee in the future.
This clip is originally from 5 live Daily on Wednesday 14 October 2015.
Duration:
This clip is from
Featured in...
![]()
News archive—5 Live In Short
The best current affairs interviews, insight and analysis from BBC Radio 5 live.
More clips from 5 Live In Short
![]()
How a football and a bin revolutionised lunchtimes
Duration: 00:54
![]()
‘I struggled to get my shoes on and get dressed’
Duration: 01:05
![]()
PM: 'Nigel Farage and Reform are just the politics of grievance'
Duration: 00:41






