Former Premier League referee David Coote has been charged by the FA over his rant aimed at Jurgen Klopp.
Coote was sacked in December after a video emerged of him bashing former Liverpool boss Klopp, and a separate clip appeared to show him snorting a white powder in a hotel room while he was officiating at last summer’s Euros.
The astonishing initial video surrounding Klopp, which went viral on social media, appeared to show Coote looking worse for wear as he delivered an explicit rant about the Merseyside club.
‘Liverpool were s***,’ said the man alleged to be Coote in the video. ‘(Klopp is a) ****, absolute ****. Aside from having a right pop at me when I was refereeing them against Burnley in lockdown, he accused me of lying and then had a right f***ing pop of me.
‘I have no interest in speaking to someone who is f***ing arrogant. So I do my best not to speak to him. (James) Milner is all right, I get on with him. You can see me there with a ‘mask’ on. But, my god, German ****, f*** me.’ In a second video, he added: ‘Just to be clear, that f***ing last video cannot go anywhere, seriously.’
The FA have now revealed that Coote has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3.
A regulation and discipline update provided by the body read: ‘David Coote has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to comments that he made about Jurgen Klopp in a video recorded around July 2020 which appeared on social media in November 2024.
‘It’s alleged that the referee acted in an improper manner and/or abusive and/or insulting words contrary to FA Rule E3.1.’
The PGMOL found Coote’s actions made his position as a Premier League official ‘untenable’ and the organisation headed up by Howard Webb terminated his employment with immediate effect late last year.
Coote was then handed a 16-month ban by UEFA in February for violating ‘the basic rules of decent conduct’ and bringing ‘the sport of football, and UEFA in particular, into disrepute’.
Coote has rarely been seen in public since, but a report in The Sun earlier this month showed the former official enjoying a surprise new career.
Coote has reportedly started working for the delivery company near his home in Newark in Nottinghamshire and opened up on his new role.
‘I’m just trying to make an honest living,’ he said. ‘I want to get on with my life. I’m trying to move forwards and regain a sense of responsibility and purpose. The job is keeping me busy and occupied, it’s not a new long-term career.
‘I’m doing what I want to do, focusing on what’s important like spending more time with friends and family.’
