David Coote: Premier League referee sacked by PGMOL after Jurgen Klopp comments
Updated 09/12/2024 at 17:59 GMT
David Coote has had his employment "terminated with immediate effect" by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) after a video surfaced on social media allegedly showing the Premier League official making derogatory comments about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. Coote was initially suspended in November pending a full investigation.
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Premier League official David Coote has been sacked by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) following an investigation into his conduct.
Coote was initially suspended pending a full investigation on November 11 after a video surfaced on social media, allegedly showing Coote making derogatory comments about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
The PGMOL confirmed Coote's employment had been "terminated with immediate effect" in a statement released on Monday.
The statement read: "Following the conclusion of a thorough investigation into David Coote’s conduct, his employment with PGMOL has been terminated today with immediate effect.
"David Coote’s actions were found to be in serious breach of the provisions of his employment contract, with his position deemed untenable.
"Supporting David Coote continues to be important to us and we remain committed to his welfare."
The PGMOL also confirmed that Coote "has a right to appeal the decision to terminate his employment".
The video of Coote, allegedly using expletives to describe Klopp, appeared to be referring to Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Burnley in 2020 at Anfield, officiated by Coote.
Following the incident, it was reported that Coote had "accepted the viral video in which he appears is genuine", but "it is believed he does not recall the content of the discussion, recorded several years ago".
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David Coote
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The Football Association (FA) swiftly opened an investigation the next day, which saw Coote suspended, but a further investigation began the following day when a second video emerged, posted by The Sun.
The video allegedly showed Coote during Euro 2024 where he was working as a match official for UEFA – which prompted the tournament organisers to suspend Coote and launch an investigation of their own on November 13.
Coote was promoted to the Premier League during the 2017/18 season and took charge of the 2023 EFL Cup final between Manchester United and Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium.
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