Premier League referee David Coote has reportedly admitted that the video of him showing disrespect to Liverpool and former manager Jurgen Klopp is real.
Coote has been suspended by the PGMOL after footage – which appears to be several years old – showed him calling then Reds boss Klopp a ‘German bastard’ and ‘bloody arrogant’.
The PGMOL has launched an investigation and is investigating the possibility that it is a deep fake or created using artificial intelligence.
However, Coote, who refereed in Liverpool’s 2-0 win against Aston Villa on Saturday, has now admitted it was sincere, the club said. Daily mirror.
However, the outlet claims that Coote is not believed to remember the content of the entire conversation.
David Coote has reportedly admitted that footage of him calling Jürgen Klopp a ‘German ****’ in a foul-mouthed rant about Liverpool is real
Coote, who was in charge during Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa this weekend, has been suspended by PGMOL with immediate effect pending a full investigation.
The PGMOL confirmed in a statement on Monday that Coote had been suspended with immediate effect.
It said: ‘David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect pending a full investigation. PGMOL will make no further comment until that process has been completed.”
The astonishing video, which has gone viral on social media, appears to show Coote looking worse for wear as he delivers an explicit rant about the Merseyside club.
“Liverpool was s***,” the man alleged to be 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 have no interest 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.”
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 stunning video was Liverpool’s controversial 1-1 draw against Burnley in 2020.
In the match that 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.
The footage appears to have been taken after Coote officiated the controversial 1-1 draw against Burnley in 2020, when Andy Robertson was left furious with the Premier League referee.
Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp clashed with Coote during a league match in 2022
‘How is that not a punishment, it is a shame; ‘ shouted the Scot angrily 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 has since 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.
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.