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With a childhood love of the beautiful game and a father who officiated in the Football League, it somehow seemed inevitable that James Adcock would find his way into refereeing.

And with more than 500 matches under his belt in a career that’s taken him from the amateur level to the Premier League, it’s fair to say James has now done pretty much everything when it comes to being a ref.

James also happens to be gay – and has decided that now is the right time to talk publicly about his sexuality for the first time on this special episode of the podcast, which coincides with National Coming Out Day.

This is a cracker of an episode that touches on all sorts of different things – how it feels to walk out in front of 40,000 fans at places like Elland Road and Old Trafford; the highs and lows of refereeing; telling his colleagues and now, the wider world, about his sexuality; how he hopes the footballing world as a whole will react to his story; whether he’s happy to be a role model to other LGBTQ+ people in the game: his love of fitness and staying healthy; starting a new business in lockdown; and so, so much more.

We’re really grateful James took the time to join us for a really memorable episode, and we think you’re going to like it.

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@jack_murley
jack.murley@bbc.co.uk