Former Premier League referee David Coote has been charged by the FA over his rant aimed at Jurgen Klopp.
Coote was sacked in December after a video emerged of him bashing former Liverpool boss Klopp, and a separate clip appeared to show him snorting a white powder in a hotel room while he was officiating at last summer’s Euros.
The astonishing initial video surrounding Klopp, which went viral on social media, appeared to show Coote looking worse for wear as he delivered an explicit rant about the Merseyside club.
‘Liverpool were s***,’ said the man alleged to be Coote in the video. ‘(Klopp is a) ****, absolute ****. Aside from having a right pop at me when I was refereeing them against Burnley in lockdown, he accused me of lying and then had a right f***ing pop of me.
‘I have no interest in speaking to someone who is f***ing arrogant. So I do my best not to speak to him. (James) Milner is all right, I get on with him. You can see me there with a “mask” on. But, my God, German ****, f*** me.’ In a second video, he added: ‘Just to be clear, that f***ing last video cannot go anywhere, seriously.’
The FA have now revealed that Coote has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3.
Sacked former referee David Coote has been charged by the FA over an X-rated rant about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp
Coote appeared to call Klopp a ‘German ****’ in a video supposedly filmed in summer 2020
He appeared to say: ‘I have no interest in speaking to someone who is f***ing arrogant. So I do my best not to speak to him’
A regulation and discipline update provided by the body read: ‘David Coote has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to comments that he made about Jurgen Klopp in a video recorded around July 2020 which appeared on social media in November 2024.
‘It’s alleged that the referee acted in an improper manner and/or abusive and/or insulting words contrary to FA Rule E3.1.’
The PGMOL found Coote’s actions made his position as a Premier League official ‘untenable’ and the organisation headed up by Howard Webb terminated his employment with immediate effect late last year.
Coote was then handed a 16-month ban by UEFA in February for violating ‘the basic rules of decent conduct’ and bringing ‘the sport of football, and UEFA in particular, into disrepute’.
The video surrounding Klopp was allegedly recorded back in 2020 after Liverpool’s controversial 1-1 draw against Burnley, which saw Andy Robertson angrily confront the English referee after not being awarded a penalty.
His friend reportedly claims Coote made disparaging remarks about Everton, including calling Goodison Park the worst place to officiate due to fans ‘shouting abuse so close to the pitch’.
The friend also alleges Coote labelled Liverpool defender Andy Robertson a ‘Scottish p****’, while saying in video chats that the Anfield club would ‘not win the Premier League’ this season.
The leaked video was reportedly sent to the publication by a friend of the referee, and filmed by the official at a hotel paid for by UEFA during their flagship international competition this year.
An FA report read that ‘it’s alleged that the referee acted in an improper manner and/or abusive and/or insulting words contrary to FA Rule E3.1’
Coote has rarely been seen in public since, but a report in The Sun earlier this month showed the former official enjoying a surprise new career.
Coote has reportedly started working for the delivery company near his home in Newark in Nottinghamshire and opened up on his new role.
‘I’m just trying to make an honest living,’ he said. ‘I want to get on with my life. I’m trying to move forwards and regain a sense of responsibility and purpose. The job is keeping me busy and occupied, it’s not a new long-term career.
‘I’m doing what I want to do, focusing on what’s important like spending more time with friends and family.’
Coote said he has been in an ‘incredibly dark place’ since the footage became public, and confirmed the powder he had been snorting was cocaine.
‘It was really difficult, I didn’t want to leave the house because I felt everybody would be judging me,’ Coote revealed.
‘I felt that every which way I looked people were looking at me and thinking what’s he done, why has he done that, he’s let himself down, he’s let other people down, he’s let his colleagues, his friends, his family down.
‘I went shopping and for the first time everywhere I was looking in the supermarket I felt that everybody was watching me or was looking at me and judging me and I had a panic attack in one of the aisles and had to take some deep breaths.’
Coote said he has been in an ‘incredibly dark place’ since the footage became public an said white powder he was seen snorting in a separate video was cocaine
Meanwhile, in an emotional interview last month, Coote explained how shame over his sexuality led to a battle with drugs and he admitted that he had used them as an escape.
‘I felt a deep sense of shame during my teenage years in particular, he said. ‘I didn’t come out to my parents until I was 21. I didn’t come out to my friends until I was 25.
‘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 dealing 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. And that’s led me to a whole course of behaviours.’
Coote began his refereeing journey at the age of 14, where he started as a lineman. In 2010 he was promoted to the list of Football League referees in 2010. His first major game in charge came in the 2014 League One play-off final at Wembley Stadium.
In 2018, Coote reached the pinnacle of being a referee when he officiated his first Premier League game between Newcastle and West Brom. He was a FIFA-listed referee between September 2020 and March 2022.