1 week ago
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Premier League referee David Coote has been suspended from his officiating duties pending a full investigation after a video was circulated on social media on Monday related to the English official.
The footage showed the 42-year-old making disparaging remarks about Liverpool and their former manager Jürgen Klopp, just days after the referee was the man in the middle for the Reds’ 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Anfield – which was spearheaded by the in-form Mohamed Salah.
The video showed Coote stating that Liverpool played “s**t” in a game that he was at and that Klopp is a “c**t”.
The footage is currently being verified to see if it is genuine and if it turns out to be the Coote, it would appear that the English official will have no future as a top-flight referee.
According to ESPN, there will be no further update from the PGMOL until the investigation has been completed, but Coote will be unavailable for selection as a referee or a VAR during this time as the football calendar enters an international break.
This will give the investigation some time to breathe before the Premier League gets back underway on November 23.
Premier League referee David Coote is being investigated (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
David Coote’s future as a Premier League referee is under threat
Coote has been a Premier League referee since 2018 and took charge of the 2023 Carabao Cup final between Manchester United and Newcastle. Having worked hard to reach this level of officiating, it is hard to see the 42-year-old getting out of his current situation as the footage released is pretty damning for his future in the sport.
The English referee can never be trusted to oversee another football match as every decision he now makes going forward will be undermined.
An update on his future will likely come before the Premier League gets back underway and it would be very surprising if it is good news for Coote.
