// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
'I was living out my dream career in football – tumours mean I need to leave'
Dan Robathan spent years climbing the football ladder as an assistant referee
It was May 2025 and life was good for Premier League and Fifa assistant referee Dan Robathan.
Years of climbing the football ladder had paid off and he was running the line at the FA Cup final between Crystal Palace and Manchester City.
But just months after this career highlight, symptoms Dan thought were sciatic nerve pain and wear and tear were revealed to be benign tumours in his spine, which needed to be operated on immediately.
"I saw a neurosurgeon who told me I had two tumours, initially I thought it was one, but it was two," Dan tells BBC Newsbeat.
"It was compressing nerves, there was a chance it could affect a motor nerve which means it could affect function in my leg.
"I needed to go home, lay down and not move. I did that for 15 days, my life turned upside down overnight."
BBC Newsbeat met Dan at a football pitch in Norwich, close to where he lives, where he revealed the struggles he has had in trying to regain his fitness and mobility.
Dan Robathan (centre) worked his way up to top flight football
Dan picked up his first flag at 10 years old, working his way up from grassroots football to the lines at more than 200 Premier League clashes and World Cup qualifiers.