Madley was taking off refereeing duties in August 2018 with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) announcing that he had decided to relocate due to a change in his personal circumstances.
But Madley, who now lives in Norway with his partner has revealed on his personal blog that the refereeing body took the decision to sack him after a private video he sent to a friend was passed on to his employers.
In the six-second video featuring someone with a walking impairment, Madley, who has been mocked about his weight in the past, joked that he could win the parents’ race at his daughter’s sports day at school.
"F*** me, I have a chance of winning the parents race this year," the 34-year-old captioned the video.
"Out of context, I accept this reads shamefully. I accept that," Madley wrote.
"However, my intention was that the joke was aimed at myself."
He added: "I regret taking the video, I regret sending that video, and while it was a dark humoured joke, it was just that: a joke.
"It was not intended to shame anyone; it was not intended to be seen by anyone other than the person I sent it to privately in a text message on my own personal phone."
Madley took charge of 91 Premier League games before his dismissal.
"I started refereeing at 16, my career was over at 32. I had my dream job, a well-paid and incredibly enjoyable job that I loved every single minute of.
"The footballs and medals are now all I have to remember those years of dedication and hard work."
"I am far from a discriminatory person and yet that is what I am labelled as when you Google my name. That hurts.
"The last 18 months have been mental torture for me and but for those close friends and family around me, as well as a strong partner, I dread to think what could have become.
"I still struggle to sleep, I still suffer mentally day-to-day to try to find the person I am now rather than clinging to the person I once was."
