Premier League coach suspended for insulting Liverpool and Klopp

Premier League referee David Coote has been suspended and banned from refereeing two clubs in the English football league system.

A video went viral on November 11 in which Coote appeared to be making insulting comments about Liverpool and manager Jurgen Klopp.

In the chat, the man believed to be Coote insulted manager Jurgen Klopp and called Liverpool a “bad team” in a match at Anfield, where he had just taken on the role of fourth official.

He also mentioned that Klopp “criticized” him when he refereed the match between Liverpool and Burnley at Anfield, but said former midfielder James Milner was “quite okay”.

In a second video shared, the man claiming to be Coote said: “Just to be clear, that video is not for the taking, seriously.” The other man in the video added: “He’s a Premier League referee, don’t ruin his career.”

The Professional Game Referees Group (PGMOL) has launched an investigation and confirmed that Coote, who refereed the Liverpool v Aston Villa game last Saturday, has been suspended with immediate effect while the investigation takes place.

The Mirror initially reported that Coote “categorically denies any inappropriate behaviour” and insisted to refereeing officials that the video was. However, in a later update, the newspaper said Coote had admitted the video was legal, but he could not remember the conversation, as the footage was filmed several years ago.

Coote is one of the most senior referees in the Premier League and has officiated in the Premier League since 2018, having worked his way up through the ranks.

At the age of 42, he will officiate the Carabao Cup final between Manchester United and Newcastle in 2023. Coote is from Nottingham and is a Notts County fan, which means he cannot referee games involving his own team or their rivals Nottingham Forest. This is standard practice for referees, as they cannot officiate games where their allegiances are concerned. Coote has not made any public statement in response to the allegations against him, while Liverpool and Klopp have not commented.