Ex-referee Coote Sanctioned by FA After Insults to Klopp: 8 Week Suspension

David Coote Receives Suspension and Will Have to Attend an Educational Program

Former Premier League referee David Coote has been sanctioned with an eight-week suspension and will be required to participate in an educational program. The sanction was imposed following his offensive comments directed at former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp. The Football Association (FA) charged Coote in June after a video with his statements about Klopp was made public on social media last November. Coote admitted to the charges. Coote’s conduct was considered an aggravated breach under FA rules, due to the reference to Klopp’s nationality.

David Coote has been suspended for eight weeks by the FA.PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) fired Coote last December, a month after the video recorded in July 2020 was revealed. In the video, Coote described his experience as fourth official in a Liverpool match in the summer of 2020 as “a shitshow”, describing Klopp with offensive terms. He also accused him of being “arrogant”. In January, Coote publicly revealed his homosexuality in an interview. He explained that the struggle to hide his sexual orientation throughout his life contributed to his comments about Klopp and his drug use.

My sexuality is not the only reason that led me to that situation. But I am not telling an authentic story if I don’t say that I am gay and that I have had real difficulties hiding it.

David Coote

Coote’s formal response to the FA’s accusation was detailed in the regulatory commission’s written reasons. He accepted that his words about Klopp were “rude, inappropriate and unworthy of the role he played in the game” and requested the commission to understand that his absence from the hearing was due to his mental state. Coote stated that his words did not reflect his true opinion of Klopp, for whom he had always had a deep professional respect. The panel wrote: “DC [Coote] stated that he felt immense shame. He had lost a career that formed the core of his identity. He had lost all his income and the media attention had deepened his feeling of humiliation and despair.” “I was trying to rebuild her life, from a place of almost total collapse.”