England's refereeing body say they are "taking very seriously" further allegations over David Coote amid a scandal that emanated from a video that appeared to show him abusing Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool.
Coote, who is understood to have been withdrawn from duty in an upcoming Nations League match and future UEFA matches is facing multiple investigations following a video of him that emerged on Monday evening. On Wednesday English newspaper The Sun published a further video in which he appears to be consuming a white powder with his nose.
"We are aware of the allegations and are taking them very seriously," said referee body PGMOL. "David Coote remains suspended pending a full investigation. David's welfare continues to be of utmost importance to us and we are committed to providing him with the ongoing necessary support he needs through this period. We are not in a position to comment further at this stage."
Coote was suspended with immediate effect by referee body PGMOL pending a full investigation into the expletive-ridden tirade. The English Football Association have also launched their own probe into the 42 year old. Meanwhile Coote will no longer officiate a Nations League match during the international break, as had been planned.
Coote has been used as a VAR by UEFA in the past, most recently taking the video booth helm in last week's Champions League match between PSV Eindhoven and Girona. He is not expected to be appointed to any continental matches for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, Coote finds himself facing a potential misconduct charge from the FA relating to comments in which he referenced Klopp's German nationality. FA rules state that references to nationality can constitute an aggravated breach which would lead to a more hefty sanction on the Nottinghamshire referee. It is understood that Coote does not deny appearing in the video, where it appears he calls Liverpool "shit" and refers to their former head coach Klopp in a number of profane and derogatory ways.
Should the PGMOL's investigation find proof that it was indeed Coote in the video, experts expect him to be dismissed from his position. The former boss of the referee body, Keith Hackett, told Golazo Network's Morning Footy: "It's stupid of the referee.
"The investigation will be thorough, very, very thorough. For me, if it's proven, there is only one route for this to end. That is for this referee to be fired. There is no future for someone who has put into question the integrity of match officials. This has affected referees at all levels of the game in our country, grassroots through to the professional game. It's appalling.
"Integrity is the very foundation of refereeing. Trust in our competence, trust by the players in how we perform on the field of play. We're human beings, we make mistakes, but our integrity should not be questioned. This episode does put in doubt and fan the flames in relation to integrity issues."
Coote is yet to comment on the incident. Speaking on Match Officials Mic'd Up on Tuesday, PGMOL chief Howard Webb said: "We became aware of a video that was being circulated on social media that we are taking very seriously. We've instigated a full investigation. One of our referees, David Coote, has been suspended with immediate effect pending the outcome of that investigation. There's not much more I can say at this stage until we've worked through that investigation."
In the video, the man who appears to be Coote then refers to an incident involving the two in the 1-1 draw between Liverpool and Burnley in July 2020, after which Klopp had criticized the referee for letting "lots of challenges go." The German had also confronted Coote at the final whistle of this match. "He accused me of lying," Coote appears to say, "and then had a right f**king pop at me. I've got no interest in speaking to someone who is f**king arrogant."
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A second video saw the individual say: "Just to be clear, that f***ing last video cannot go anywhere, seriously."
There have been run ins between Klopp and Coote since, most notably when the latter was VAR official for a 1-1 draw between Liverpool and Arsenal in December 2024, a match in which Martin Odegaard avoided conceding a penalty for a handball in the penalty area. Coote was also in charge when Liverpool beat Aston Villa 2-0 at Anfield on Saturday and was the VAR official when Jordan Pickford went unpunished for a tackle on Virgil van Dijk that resulted in an ACL injury.
Meanwhile an individual who appears to be the second person in the video has been suspended by his employers. Former Nottinghamshire cricketer Ben Kitt now works for executive recruitment firm Forsyth Barnes. Their co-founder Roheel Ahmed told Nottinghamshire Live: "Forsyth Barnes understands that the leaked video of David Coote includes one of its employees, Ben Kitt. This is something that we are taking very seriously and we have suspended Ben on full pay while we investigate further.
"Although we are still in the process of gathering all the facts, we do know for certain that the video was taken some years before Ben became an employee of Forsyth Barnes."