By Ben Rumsby
Premier League referee David Coote is facing the sack over a video that appears to show him repeatedly branding Jurgen Klopp a “c---” after helping officiate a Liverpool match.
Coote has been suspended by Professional Game Match Officials Ltd following the emergence of two clips in which he purportedly also calls Klopp “f------ arrogant” during an exchange with another man.
David Coote has been suspended.Credit: AP
The organisation said in a statement: “David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect pending a full investigation. PGMOL will be making no further comment until that process is complete.”
A spokesperson for the Football Association said: “We are aware of the matter, and we are investigating it”.
The footage, which has emerged after Coote took charge of Liverpool’s 2-0 Premier League win against Aston Villa on the weekend, appears to show the referee speaking in the wake of Liverpool’s 7-2 thrashing by the same opponents in October 2020.
Asked by his companion what he thinks “of the Liverpool game earlier when you were fourth official”, the man in the video replies: “Liverpool were shit”.
Coote refereed the Liverpool-Aston Villa game last weekend.Credit: AP
He is then asked what he thought of Klopp, to which he answers: “C---. Absolute c---.”
Encouraged to explain why, he says: “Aside from having a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown, he accused me of lying and then just had a right f------ pop at me. And I’ve got no interest in speaking to somebody who’s f------ arrogant. So, I do my best not to speak to him.”
He goes on to say Liverpool vice-captain James Milner is “all right” and holds up his mobile phone to reveal a picture of him standing next to the midfielder as he is being brought on as a substitute by Klopp in what appears to be Liverpool’s 7-2 defeat at Villa.
He adds of Klopp: “My god, German c---. F--- me.”
The person next to him then concludes: “Long story short: Jurgen Klopp’s a c---, Liverpool are all f------ b---ends and we hate Scousers.”
In a second clip, the man purporting to be Coote says: “Like, just to be clear, that f------ last video can’t go anywhere. Seriously.”
This is echoed by his companion, who says: “He’s a Premier League referee. Let’s not f------ ruin his career. Like, let’s face it, we’re good blokes but we can’t ruin a bloke’s career. We’re not that bad. Also, he’s a f------ legend.”
The second man appears to be a former Nottinghamshire cricketer. Coote’s father also played for the county, while the referee himself is a fan of Notts County.
The Liverpool-Burnley game cited in the video looks certain to be a 1-1 draw at Anfield in July 2020 shortly after football resumed during the coronavirus pandemic.
After the final whistle of that game, Klopp and full-back Andy Robertson went onto the pitch to remonstrate angrily with Coote and his assistants.
Robertson was filmed saying: “You didn’t see f------ anything. You didn’t see anything the whole game apart from f------ booking him in the last minute.
“F--- me. What’s the point of having you in the middle? What’s the point of having you? Eh? F--- me, honestly.”
Klopp added: “Really bad, I have to say. We have to be honest.”
He also told BT Sport afterwards: “The referee let lots of challenges go so it was clear that if the ball comes into the box, it was dangerous. They did what they are good at and I respect that.”
He added: “We were angry with the referee but we have to criticise ourselves first for not finishing the game”.
Coote was also video assistant referee when Virgil van Dijk suffered a season-ending injury after a tackle by Jordan Pickford in the Merseyside derby in October 2020, which left Klopp questioning why the goalkeeper had not been sent off.
Van Dijk was offside in the build-up and it was unclear if the incident had been checked for a potential red card.
Last season, Howard Webb, the head of match officials body, admitted referee Chris Kavanagh and VAR Coote were wrong not to award a penalty against Martin Odegaard for handball in a 1-1 draw between Liverpool and Arsenal.
During last weekend’s game at Anfield, Coote appeared to indicate there had been no foul in the build-up to Liverpool’s opening goal against Villa following a last-man tackle by Leon Bailey on Mohamed Salah.
Coote has not spoken publicly about the video.
Referees previously sacked
Professional Game Match Officials Ltd set a precedent over videos showing referees making offensive comments six years ago when it sacked Bobby Madley for sending a clip of himself mocking a disabled person to a friend.
After briefly relocating to Norway, Madley subsequently rebuilt his career, making a Premier League comeback in 2022 and going on to continue officiating at the highest level.
Madley said in 2019 that his dismissal had “destroyed my career, my reputation and caused immeasurable damage to my family life”.
In January 2020, he said he would “give anything” to make a return to refereeing in England and described his previous role as a Premier League referee as his “dream job”.
He added: “I am not proud of my actions in 2018 and I have learned from this and feel I am a better and stronger person for it”.
Liverpool did not respond to requests for comment about Coote.
His suspension over comments about Klopp and the Premier League leaders comes just over a year since the Liverpool offside goal fiasco, in which the officials’ governing body was forced to publicly release an audio recording of a discussion by officials wrongly ruling out a Luis Diaz goal in the team’s defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.
The Telegraph, London
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