David Coote and the football referee's reckoning

Premier League referee David Coote has been suspended over a leaked video in which he appears to make derogatory comments about Liverpool and the club’s former manager Jurgen Klopp.

The referees’ organisation, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), has suspended Coote with immediate effect while it investigates the matter.

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Coote is “afraid of the rights” and “can never be a referee again”, said former Liverpool striker John Aldridge in the Liverpool echo. While it is not clear whether Coote’s outburst “has anything to do with his own personal loyalty”, there are already “question marks” over some of his decision-making in Liverpool matches. Such comments endanger his “authority and neutrality” and damage his reputation.

“Who among us hasn’t said really bad words about someone at work?” asked The Guardian‘sBarney Ronay. While Coote and his companion’s comments are “unacceptable, vile and ultimately harmful,” we should not “exaggerate” the offense. It is also important to “be careful” with the referee as he is a “fragile, fragile human being, just like the rest of us” who is going through a very difficult time right now.

But while the official can be “banned with the snap of a finger,” it is more challenging to admit that “he had a point,” he said. The times‘Martijn Samuel. Although Klopp built a positive reputation during his time at Liverpool, his behavior on the touchline was “not all humor and repartee”, and was “often very wrong”. So, dropping his guard and not thinking about the consequences, Coote took the opportunity to say “what he really thinks” about the former manager. “Can you blame him?”