January 28 – Former English Premier League referee David Coote has come out as gay and revealed that struggling to hide his sexuality contributed to the offensive rant about Jurgen Klopp that led to his dismissal.
Coote was sacked last month after his position was deemed “untenable” by English referees’ body The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) following an investigation into his conduct which found his actions to be in serious breach of his contract.
Coote had previously been suspended by PGMOL after a video circulated on social media showing the official allegedly abusing Liverpool and former manager Klopp. He is also the subject of UEFA disciplinary proceedings after a separate video emerged of him allegedly snorting a white powder during Euro 2024.
The 42-year-old is also being investigated by the English Football Association following allegations he discussed the awarding of a yellow card with a fan prior to an English Championship match.
In an interview with The Sun newspaper, Coote said: “My sexuality isn’t the only reason that led me to be in that position. But I’m not telling an authentic story if I don’t say that I’m gay, and that I’ve had real struggles with hiding that.
“I hid my emotions as a young ref and I hid my sexuality as well — a good quality as a referee but a terrible quality as a human being. That’s led me to a whole course of behaviours.”
Coote said he was “not sober” when he gave his personal opinions on Klopp and Liverpool, adding the video was taped by a friend and he had forgotten about it.
“The video has been sat with somebody for four years, I’d forgotten it existed,” Coote said. “I was sat waiting for my car to be serviced and I received a call to say that this video has surfaced on social media. You can tell from the video I clearly wasn’t sober and I deeply regret that I found myself in that position.”
“The first thing I want to do is apologise to anyone I’ve offended by my actions. I recognised they fell well short of standards that are expected of a top-level referee and I deeply regret saying what I said.”
Regarding the video during the European Championship last year, Coote continued: “I was struggling with the schedule and there was no opportunity to stop. And so, I found myself in that position — escaping.
“I’ve had long periods where I’ve not used it (cocaine) — but it was one of the escape routes I had. Just getting away from the stresses, the relentlessness of the job. It fills me with a huge sense of shame to say that I took that route.”
“Every official that takes to the pitch up and down the country from a local playing field to the Premier League is a human being, not just a referee.”
“They have feelings. They may not show them, but it will impact them when they’re receiving abuse. I’ve struggled and I’ve tried to get through it in my own way and made poor decisions in doing so.
“I hope that others make better decisions and that referees are given an easier ride in the levels of scrutiny, and levels of abuse that come in their direction. I hope this shines a light on the impact it can have on a person.”
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