Former Premier League referee David Coote has been handed an eight-week suspension by the FA and must attend a mandatory face-to-face education programme over comments he made about former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
Coote was charged in June after a video – which appeared to show Coote making derogatory comments about Liverpool and their former manager Klopp – was widely circulated on social media in November 2024.
The video was unverified but in the FA investigation, Coote confirmed the video had been taken in his living room in June 2020, alongside a friend he knew from playing cricket.
During the investigation, run by an independent commission, Coote said his words did not reflect his true feeling towards Klopp, for whom he has a “deep professional respect”. Coote has apologised to Klopp personally, as well as the FA, the Professional Game Match Officials (PGMOL) and the wider football community.
The PGMOL confirmed the termination of Coote’s employment in December, saying that a thorough investigation concluded he was “in serious breach of the provisions of his employment contract, with his position deemed untenable”.
Coote was charged with FA Rule E3.1 where he was alleged to have acted “improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words” about Klopp. The former official admitted the charge.
However, Coote was cleared of allegations of gambling misconduct. He was being investigated by the FA for a reported incident in Leeds’ match against West Brom in October 2019.
Reports in November suggested Coote booked then-Leeds player Ezgjan Alioski, then messaged a friend saying: “I hope you backed as discussed.” Coote had always strenuously denied the allegation.
In February, Coote was banned by UEFA until June 30 2026 after a different video emerged of him snorting a white powder through a bank note while in Germany for last summer’s Euros.
In January, Coote came out as gay and said that a lifelong struggle to hide his sexuality had contributed to the rant about Klopp.
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Former Premier League referee David Coote tells Sky Sports’ Mark McAdam he feels ashamed of the incidents which led to his sacking by the PGMOL. If you’ve been affected by some upsetting issues in this video, head to sky.com/viewersupport
In an interview with The Sun, Coote said: “I felt a deep sense of shame during my teenage years in particular. I didn’t come out to my parents until I was 21. I didn’t come out to my friends until I was 25.
“My sexuality isn’t the only reason that led me to be in that position. But I’m not telling an authentic story if I don’t say that I’m gay and that I’ve had real struggles dealing with hiding that.
“I hid my emotions as a young ref and I hid my sexuality as well – a good quality as a referee but a terrible quality as a human being.
“That’s led me to a whole course of behaviours.”
He added: “I’ve had issues around my self-esteem – and that relates to my sexuality. I’m gay and I’ve struggled with feeling proud of being ‘me’ over a long period of time.
“I have received deeply unpleasant abuse during my career as a ref and to add my sexuality to that would have been really difficult.”
Timeline: What led to Coote’s dismissal?
Saturday November 9 2024: Coote referees Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa.
Monday November 11: An unverified video of Coote making derogatory comments about Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp circulates on social media.
Monday November 11: PGMOL suspends Coote and launches an investigation.
Tuesday November 12: FA begins own investigation into Coote video.
Tuesday November 12: Chief refereeing officer Howard Webb says on Sky Sports’ Match Officials Mic’d Up that PGMOL is taking the incident “very seriously”.
Thursday November 14: PGMOL aware of new video appearing to show Coote snorting a white powder while reportedly working at Euro 2024.
Wednesday November 27: FA investigating allegations Coote discussed giving a yellow card before a game as reported by The Sun. Coote refutes allegations.
Monday December 9: Coote sacked by PGMOL.
Friday February 28: UEFA bans Coote until June 2026.
Tuesday June 17: Coote charged by FA over Klopp comments but no charges brought over gambling misconduct.
Tuesday August 12: Coote is handed an eight-week suspension by the FA and must attend a mandatory face-to-face education programme.
