David Coote’s ‘former friend’ is SUSPENDED from his job after he was filmed next to shamed Premier League ref as he called Jurgen Klopp a ‘****’

Ben Kitt, the man who appeared in the astonishing leaked video of suspended Premier League referee David Coote, has been suspended from his job at an executive recruitment firm following the scandal.

Coote, who was suspended with immediate effect on Monday by referees chief PGMOL pending a full investigation, shockingly described Liverpool as ‘s***’ and former Reds manager Jurgen Klopp as a ‘German ****’ in an expletive rant during the match. viral video.

Although PGMOL is investigating the possibility that the video is a deep fake or made with artificial intelligence, Coote reportedly accepts that it is a real recording, claiming that he cannot remember the content of the entire conversation.

According to sources who contacted Mail Sport about the identity of Coote’s friend, the man sitting next to the Premier League referee is former Nottinghamshire cricketer Kitt, who once had a two-year contract with the club.

Mail Sport understands the video comes from a still-existing cricket WhatsApp group from Nottinghamshire, filmed after a night out at a casino a few years ago.

Coote (above) described Jurgen Klopp as a ‘German ****’ in a foul-mouthed rant during the video and has since been suspended by referees chief PGMOL while they investigate

Coote (left) tells the camera ‘that the last video can’t go anywhere’ in the second video uploaded online, while the man identified as Kitt (right) says ‘let’s not ruin his career’

Forsyth Barnes, whose clients include Manchester United and Real Madrid, is said to have suspended Kitt pending an internal investigation into the video.

Company co-founder Roheel Ahmad shared a statement with Telegraph Sports on Tuesday he said: ‘Forsyth Barnes understands that David Coote’s leaked video features one of his employees, Ben Kitt.

‘This is something we take very seriously and we have suspended Ben on full pay while we investigate further.

‘Although we are still gathering all the facts, we know for certain that the video was recorded several years before Ben joined Forsyth Barnes.

‘During his time at the company, Ben has shown that he is strong [work] ethics and dedication to his career. He has matured considerably and has grown into a responsible young man.

“To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, Forsyth Barnes will have no further comment.”

A company spokesperson added that the company would not comment on the video itself.

Kitt is believed to be devastated by the leak, with one source claiming to have links to the 29-year-old’s post: ‘Just heard the lad is absolutely devastated, he is (was) really good mate with Coote , and he honestly has no idea how this got out.

Coote was the man in charge during Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa this weekend

‘It will also affect him as he works in recruitment within the sports industry, so there will be a lot of grumbling there.

“He has no idea how it got out.”

Kitt, whose LinkedIn profile appears to have been deleted on Monday evening, now works as a Principal Recruitment Consultant for a company in Nottingham, recruiting staff on six-figure salaries.

Sources close to Kitt have also contacted Mail Sport claiming Coote’s astonishing video is currently ‘the talk of cricket’.

Another source told Mail Sport on Monday that Kitt supports Plymouth Argyle and lives in Nottingham, where he is a local in pubs such as the Whistle & Flute and Mist Rolling Inn.

Mail Sport has contacted Kitt for comment via his work email and social media.

The viral video shows both Coote and his ‘friend’ looking worse for wear, as the latter delivered an explicit rant about Liverpool and Klopp.

“Liverpool was damned,” Coote said in the video. ‘(Klopp is a) ****, absolutely ****. Apart from right-clicking me when I refereed against Burnley in lockdown, he accused me of lying and then got a bloody punch from me.

“I’m not interested in talking to someone who’s damn arrogant. That’s why I try my best not to talk to him. (James) Milner is doing well, I get on with him. You see me there with a ‘mask’ on. But my god, German, fuck me.”

Kitt, whose LinkedIn profile appeared to have been deleted on Monday, now works in recruitment

Kitt had a two-year contract at Trent Bridge (above), home of Nottinghamshire Cricket Club

In a second video, he said, “Just to be clear, that damn last video isn’t going anywhere, seriously.”

Kitt added: ‘He’s a Premier League referee, let’s not ruin his career. Let’s face it, we’re good guys, but we can’t ruin a guy’s career. We’re not that bad. Besides, he’s a legend.’

Kitt, 29, signed his first professional cricket deal in 2017 after impressing for Nottinghamshire Academy and their second XI. He claimed more than 100 wickets in one summer before a stress fracture in his back derailed a promising career.

Coote’s father, David Edward Coote, also played for Nottinghamshire, making one first-class appearance against Yorkshire at Trent Bridge in 1977.

Despite attempting to recover during his first first-class season with Nottinghamshire, Kitt continued to suffer from injuries and was eventually released by the club in 2019.

He told it Nottinghamshire live in 2019: ‘Sometimes injuries are not completely healed. It wasn’t the club that rushed me back against my will, not at all.

‘You want to get out of there. I wouldn’t say I regretted rushing back. It would have been much easier on my body if I had taken it easy.

‘I didn’t think it would go the way it did at Notts. To say I’m angry wouldn’t be the right word. However, I am angry about the way things turned out. I’m not angry with the club at all. They were great. It’s just the injuries. It’s hard to bear.’