Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca becomes first Premier League manager to speak out on David Coote… after referee was suspended for calling former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp a ‘German ****’ in leaked video

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has become the first Premier League manager to speak out about the David Coote scandal

Coote is not on the playing list this weekend as he was suspended after an old video surfaced of him calling Jurgen Klopp a ‘German ****’ and Liverpool ‘***’.

And ahead of his return to former club Leicester on Saturday, Maresca lambasted the 42-year-old.

‘I saw it. These kinds of things, no reaction whatsoever – whether it is a player, a manager, a referee, a normal person not involved in football – the reaction is not the best because there are things that are not correct to say, ‘ That’s what the Chelsea boss said.

‘It doesn’t matter that he’s a referee. If I say the same thing as a manager, it’s wrong. If you say the same thing as a journalist, something is wrong.

‘So it doesn’t matter that he’s a referee. Any person who says things like this is not good.”

An astonishing leaked video that went viral last week appeared to show Premier League official Coote calling Liverpool ‘***’ and Jurgen Klopp a ‘German ****’

The investigation into the suspended referee Coote is still ongoing, according to the PGMOL

Another video came to light of a man said to be Coote snorting white powder during the 2024 Euros as he was accused of setting up a ‘drugs party’ at a Travelodge after the Man City defeat against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup last month.

A spokesperson for PGMOL said: ‘We are following an internal process and are taking the allegations surrounding David Coote’s conduct very seriously as part of our ongoing, full and thorough investigation. Although David remains suspended, his well-being remains important to us and he is aware of the support network available to him.”

Coote was relieved by UEFA of his duties in the Premier League as well as international and European competition while investigations are ongoing.

“The UEFA Refereeing Committee immediately suspended David Coote until further notice on November 11 when it became aware of his inappropriate behaviour,” a spokesperson said.

In the first clip, the Nottinghamshire official claimed Klopp was being ‘arrogant’. “Apart from right-winging me when I turned them down against Burnley during lockdown, he (Klopp) accused me of lying and came down hard on me,” Coote said.

“I’m not interested in talking to someone who’s damn arrogant. I try my best not to talk to him. ‘My God, German c***, fuck me.’

He also added: ‘Liverpool was s***. (Klopp is a) ****, absolutely ****.

‘(James) Milner is doing well, I get on with him. You can see me there with a ‘mask’ on.’

A video also emerged of Coote allegedly snorting white powder in a hotel room during Euro 2024

Coote was suspended after the images, which appear to be from many years ago

Coote and former Liverpool boss Klopp have clashed several times over the years

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

The match the man alleged to be Coote is referring to in the video was Liverpool’s controversial 1-1 draw against Burnley in 2020.

In the match, which saw Liverpool drop points at home for the first time that season, Andy Robertson was caught on camera angrily confronting Coote in an expletive-laden tirade after being denied a penalty.

“How is that not a penalty, that’s a shame,” the Scot grumbled after the match. ‘How the hell is that not a punishment? You didn’t see anything.

‘You haven’t seen anything the whole game, except you booked them in the last minute. F*** me. What’s the point of having you in the middle? What’s the point of having you? F*** me. Honestly.’

Coote has been a Premier League referee since 2018 and had many clashes with Klopp, who left Anfield at the end of last season.

Midway through last season, during the match between Arsenal and Liverpool in December, Klopp expressed his anger at Coote and the rest of the match officials after his side were denied a penalty despite Martin Odegaard appearing to handle the ball inside the 18-yard box.

The match the man alleged to be Coote is referring to in the video was Liverpool’s controversial 1-1 draw against Burnley in 2020, with Andy Robertson confronting him at full-time.

Chris Kavanagh, who was the match referee, allowed play to continue and the match was not stopped for a VAR check by the referees, with Coote convinced that the Norwegian only handled the ball while falling, which is not considered a punishable offense by the referee. The rules of the Premier League.

“Yes, I saw it,” Klopp raged after the match. ‘I’m pretty sure someone will come and explain to me why it wasn’t a handball, but I don’t know how? “I’m not saying the referee can see it because I don’t know where he was at the time.”

Referring to Coote’s role in the incident, he added: ‘But how can a man in the office see that and not conclude that it might be worth the referee having a second look?’

PGMOL chief Howard Webb then admitted Kavanagh and Coote had made a mistake by not awarding Liverpool a penalty during the 1-1 draw.

Things went from bad to worse for Coote last Wednesday when The Sun released an eight-second clip of him allegedly using a rolled up banknote to inhale a white powder in a hotel room during last summer’s European Championship.

That video is said to have been recorded on July 6, the day after the Euro 2024 quarter-final between Portugal and France, in which Coote was a supporting VAR official and Michael Oliver was the referee.

It is also reported that the film was shot in a UEFA-funded hotel room. He has been relieved from officiating European matches by UEFA.

Finally, The Sun published reports, believed to be from an acquaintance of Coote, claiming the 42-year-old tried to set up a ‘drugs party’ at a Travelodge when he ‘should have been concentrating’ on City’s match against Spurs in October . 30.

Further claims published in The Sun said Coote had also allegedly tried to organize a drugs party during Manchester City’s 2–1 defeat to Tottenham on October 30.

The Sun’s source questioned whether Coote (right) was really ‘concentrated’ on the fixture

Coote is said to have booked a hotel room at 7.38pm and sent a booking notification to someone else at 8.04pm – just 11 minutes before kick-off.

The latest damning allegations claim Coote messaged a friend saying ‘I hope you’re getting ready (to meet)’ – during half-time of City’s 2-1 defeat to Spurs.

A source told The Sun: ‘On the day of the match he messaged me repeatedly and wanted a drugs party after finishing at Spurs (where he was the fourth official).

‘He only booked the Travelodge just before kick-off and sent a notification eleven minutes after the start of the match. It was crazy.

‘The moments before and after he sent me messages. When he texted me at halftime, I thought it was so surreal.

“Surely he should have focused on the game and not on organizing drug parties.”

The source claims they eventually pulled out of the meeting with Coote and the official ‘went crazy’ – even asking for £73.99 in compensation for the booking fee.

Another source told the newspaper that Coote had called Liverpool left-back Robertson a ‘Scottish p****’.

“He did say that the worst place to referee was Goodison Park because the young Scousers were shouting, shouting, swearing and shouting every name under the sun at him before the games had even started,” the source said.