David Coote handed immediate suspension after leaked videos of his Klopp outburst make way to social media.
David Coote has been suspended after video footage emerged of him calling Jürgen Klopp a “German cunt” and Liverpool “shit”.
Coote said Klopp was “arrogant” and had accused him of lying following a 1-1 tie between Liverpool and Burnley during Project Restart in 2020 in the video that went viral on social media on Monday. Coote led Liverpool to a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday.
Professional Game Match Officials Ltd said: “David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect pending a full investigation. PGMOL will be making no further comment until that process is complete.”
The video appears to date from the 2020-21 season. Coote is asked by a man for his opinion of Klopp, the then Liverpool manager, and says: “Aside from having a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown, then he accused me of lying and then just had a right fucking pop at me. I’ve got no interest in speaking to someone who’s fucking arrogant. So I do my best not to speak to him … My God, German cunt, fuck me.”
According to the video, the disparaging comment on Liverpool is related to the team’s performance in a match earlier that day, where Coote served as the fourth official.
The other man continues by outlining what he believes to be the main takeaway from the talk while seemingly recording it on his phone in a minimally furnished sitting room.
“Long story short: Jürgen Klopp’s a cunt, Liverpool are all fucking bellends and we hate scousers.”
Coote and the other man also imply that they are breaching Covid regulations in sitting almost shoulder to shoulder. Coote saying sarcastically: “We’re two metres apart.”
In a separate video, Coote appears to ask those present not to share the original recording. “Just to be clear, that last video can’t go anywhere, seriously,” he says. The other man says: “He’s a Premier League referee, let’s not ruin a bloke’s career. We’re not that bad.”