Premier League referee David Coote has been suspended by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) after a video circulating on social media showed him making derogatory comments about Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp, Afrosport reports.
The video allegedly showed the 42-year-old and another man having a dig at Klopp, with Coote saying the German coach had “a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown”.
The English referee called Klopp “arrogant”, swearing severally while speaking about the former Liverpool boss.
A PGMOL statement read: “David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect pending a full investigation.
“PGMOL will be making no further comment until that process is complete.”
Coote, who is from Nottingham, is registered as a Notts County fan and per PGMOL rules, cannot officiate any matches involving County and Nottingham Forest.
However, the match in question is a Premier League match between Liverpool and Burnley in July 2020 at Anfield, with the both sides settling for a 1-1 stalemate after Jay Rodriguez cancelled out Andy Robertson’s opener.
Klopp, however, criticised Coote after the encounter, stating that the referee decided not to give fouls for tackles made on Liverpool’s players.
Coote, who has served as a Premier League referee since 2018, was recently in charge of Liverpool’s 2-0 win against Aston Villa on Saturday.
He is one of the most experienced referees in the English top-flight having served as VAR lead multiple times and was appointed to Euro 2024.
Coote reportedly admits the video is real but claimed that he doesn’t remember the discussion, adding that the incident occurred several years ago.
