EUROPEAN FOOTBALL’S GOVERNING body Uefa has banned ex-Premier League referee David Coote from any officiating activity until June 2026.
Coote, 42, was sacked by Premier League Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) in December after a video emerged showing him making derogatory comments about Liverpool and the club’s former manager Jurgen Klopp.
A separate video subsequently showed Coote snorting white powder, reportedly during Euro 2024, and PGMOL said the official was in serious breach of his employment contract and his actions made his position “untenable”.
Uefa’s control, ethics and disciplinary body met last week and ruled Coote had violated the basic rules of decent conduct and brought football, and Uefa in particular, into disrepute.
In a January interview Coote came out as gay and said his struggle to hide his sexuality had contributed to bad choices, such as the video about Liverpool and his use of drugs.
He said he was “truly sorry for any offence caused by my actions”.
He obviously messed up but I do feel sorry for Coote on a human level. I find it a bit laughable when I see the amount of giving out done about refs in the Prem each week. It’s clearly an English issue. I’d say I could count on one hand the amount of times I felt a ref has been faulty/poor in the Bundesliga in almost 15 years of watching it. Lest we forget the actions of Felix Zwayer all those years ago too!
@Ultán Corcoran: I felt sorry for him until the pulled the “I did it because I’m gay” card
@Niall Boyle: his struggles with coming out make it even more a human story that deserves our empathy, IMO. He never said that he made the comments about Klopp because he was gay, rather that his coke habit was partly due to him being a gay man who was married to a woman and very much in the closet – the stress of that situation must have been unbearable
Should be a longer ban. Anyone talking like he did or showing drug use is a terrible example to the many children who follow the sport. All he’s gotten is a slap on the wrist
@Mick O’K: that’s right, Mick. When people make mistakes we should annihilate them, make sure they can’t work for years, demolish their family and loved ones from the whole ordeal too, but only after we publicly shame the degenerate culprit by rubbing their nose in their own poop and walking them through the town square with their own shit all over their face.
I’m with you, Mick!
@Fergus The Bull Tamer: so a slap on the wrist is on for high profile people. Truth be told he should be charged by the police for his open drug use while we’re at at. Glad to have your support Ferg
Totally deserved, his actions were despicable. Using the gay card as an excuse, shows how low he will go!!!
@Ollie Fitzpatrick: I agree with that. What he said about klopp he’s perfectly entitled to. His Judas friend has a lot to answer for there but the drugs thing is a no-no and he’s just using the gay thing to get out of jail.
UEFA… ethics!!!