Premier League referee David Coote has been sacked for abusing former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in a leaked video. The British referee is also under investigation from UEFA after a video showed him allegedly snorting cocaine.
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Liverpool and their former manager, Jurgen Klopp finally got justice for a scandal that appears to have happened four years ago. British referee David Coote, who was
filmed abusing Klopp and Liverpool, has been sacked after being found guilty of making derogatory remarks. He was already suspended when the video surfaced about a month ago, but the English football referee governing body, Professional Game Match Officials Limited, or the PGMOL has terminated Coote contract for being in an untenable position.
“Following the conclusion of a thorough investigation into David Coote’s conduct, his employment with PGMOL has been terminated today with immediate effect,” the PGMOL statement said.
Coote’s entire career is now under threat because another video surfaced of him allegedly snorting cocaine during Euro 2024. UEFA is currently investigating the video, which appears to be from earlier this year. Clearly, the British referee is under a lot of flak, but before we talk about his snorting habits, let’s first discuss what got Coote, 42, sacked.
Coote while discussing one of the games from 2020 not only abused Liverpool’s former manager Klopp, but also targeted Klopp’s German nationality.
“Aside from having a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown, then he accused me of lying then just had a right f***ing pop at me, I’ve got no interest in speaking to someone who’s f***ing arrogant. I do my best not to speak to him. German c***,” Coote said in the video.
Coote knew this video could not come to light. He even says so in the video itself, that this getting out would cost him his job. Of course, it did manage to stay hidden for four years but now it’s out.
David coote ladies and gentlemen pic.twitter.com/WDHc36a7Mn
— Josh (@Josh97LFC) November 11, 2024
Coote’s controversial decisions in Liverpool games
One might argue that this might just be Coote’s personal opinion, but here’s the thing, you can say that about a football fan, a commentator, a footballer even, but Coote is a referee. The job of a referee is to be impartial and to be unbiased. Because when that doesn’t happen then every decision the referee takes thereon comes under the scanner, which is what happened with this British referee.
Coote’s decision didn’t impact the Liverpool vs Burnley game, but this is where the feud supposedly started. In 2020, Klopp complained about Coote for not intervening as video referee during the Merseyside derby against Everton for Jordan Pickford’s challenge on Virgil van Dijk which left the Dutch defender with a serious knee injury.
Klopp also accused the referee of a blatant error last season when Coote was a video referee for Liverpool’s game against Arsenal. Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard appeared to handle the ball in the area and Klopp was incensed Liverpool was not awarded a penalty.
The head of PGMOL Howard Webb later admitted that it was a mistake.
Klopp left the club after the end of last season and was replaced by Dutch manager Arne Slot.
In a sport where refereeing plays a significant part, such calls, such decisions could derail the momentum of any team, and there are many other incidents that are coming to light and that paint another poor picture of the football referee in question and suggest that there possibly is a pattern to all of this.
Before the Jurgen Klopp scandal, Coote discussed a bet on a yellow card before he took charge of the Championship match between Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion, as per The Sun newspaper.
The match dates back to 2019 and while it may have been a joke between him and his friends. Coote yellow-carded Alioski in the match and later sent a message to the fan saying: “I hope you backed as discussed”.
Coote said he had always refereed with integrity.
“I strongly refute these false and defamatory allegations,” he said in a statement.
“Whatever issues I may have had in my personal life they have never affected my decision making on the field. I have always held the integrity of the game in the highest regard, refereeing matches impartially and to the best of my ability.”
Given the controversies swimming around him, can anyone really believe Coote?
With agency inputs