The referees’ body in England announced the suspension of famous referee David Coote after an old video clip spread of him insulting Liverpool and its former coach Jurgen Klopp with obscene words.
In the clip, Coote appears talking about a match in which Liverpool participated, where he described the team as “bad”.
The referees’ body in England said, “David Coote has been suspended pending the completion of a full investigation. The committee will not issue any further comment until this process is complete.”
When asked about his opinion of Klopp, he said, “A despicable, absolutely despicable.” When asked why he described the German coach in this way, he replied, “Apart from the fact that he attacked me severely when I was refereeing a match for them against Burnley during the lockdown period. He accused me of lying, then attacked me severely. I have no interest in talking to an arrogant person. Therefore, I prefer not to talk to him.”
David coote ladies and gentlemen pic.twitter.com/WDHc36a7Mn
— Josh (@Josh97LFC) November 11, 2024
Coote refereed Liverpool’s last Premier League game, a 2-0 win over Aston Villa last Saturday, and was criticised after refusing to award a foul on Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey, which led to a second Liverpool goal scored by Darwin Nunez.
Coote also played a role in a controversial decision not to award Liverpool a penalty in their match against Arsenal in December 2023. Referee Chris Kavanagh did not award a penalty after the ball hit Martin Odegaard’s hand inside the penalty area, with Coote, acting as video assistant referee, confirming the decision on the pitch.
However, head of referees Howard Webb later said it was the wrong decision and Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty.
One piece of information that has emerged since the video went viral is that Coote is a staunch Manchester United fan, which also explains why he has such a strong hatred for Liverpool and casts doubt on the integrity of some of his decisions.
