The yellow card incident that landed referee David Coote in even more hot water has resurfaced, more than five years after it first happened.
Referee Coote is under investigation by the Football Association following allegations that he discussed showing a yellow card to a player before the match.
The match in question saw Leeds take on West Brom in the Championship in October 2019, with a booking shown to then defender Ezgjan Alioski in the 18th minute.
The North Macedonian international launched a challenge on Darnell Furlong, slid across the ground at an uncontrolled pace and promptly caught the Baggies back, earning him a deserved warning.
However, a report from The Sun has revealed that Coote reportedly messaged a ‘friend’ to hint that Leeds player Alioski would be shown a yellow card in the Elland Road clash.
The report also claims that Coote messaged his friend again the day after the match, saying: ‘What a day yesterday. I hope you supported it as discussed.”
Ezgjan Alioski was shown a yellow card by David Coote in 2019 for a reckless challenge
The North Macedonian international was caught in a tackle against West Brom in the first half
Alioski was caught off guard in a challenge that probably justified the yellow card he received
An FA spokesperson confirmed last night that they are investigating the matter.
“These are very serious allegations and we are investigating them urgently,” the statement said.
Coote has denied any wrongdoing and is not believed to have benefited financially from the warning.
A statement from Coote said: ‘I strongly refute these false and defamatory allegations. Whatever problems I’ve had in my personal life have never affected my decision-making on the field. I have always held the integrity of the game in high regard, refereeing matches impartially and to the best of my ability.”
The latest allegations come amid a firestorm in which Coote is at the center, following the emergence of a clip which appeared to show him calling Liverpool ‘s***’ and describing Jurgen Klopp as a ‘German ****’.
This was then followed by a video showing a man believed to be the official sniffing a white powder during the European Championships he was refereeing at earlier this year.
PGMOL (the body responsible for refereeing matches in England) says it is taking claims against the 42-year-old ‘very seriously’.
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 withdrawn from the Premier League as well as international and European competition by UEFA, which is also investigating.
Coote was suspended following the release of an alleged video clip that appears to be from many years ago
An astonishing leaked video that went viral last week appeared to show Premier League official Coote calling Liverpool ‘***’ and Jurgen Klopp a ‘German ****’
“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 ****, fuck me.’
He also added: ‘Liverpool was s***. (Klopp is a) ****, absolutely ****.
‘(James) Milner is doing well, I get on with him. You see me there with a ‘mask’ on.’
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.
Things went from bad to worse for Coote earlier this month 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.
A video also emerged of Coote allegedly snorting white powder in a hotel room during Euro 2024
Coote (pictured topless in a separate video) has also been accused of making disparaging comments about Everton Football Club and Liverpool defender Andy Robertson
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.
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.
The investigation into suspended referee David Coote is still ongoing, according to the PGMOL
“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 Andy Robertson a ‘Scottish p****’.
“He did say that Goodison Park was the worst place to referee 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.