David Coote's profane anti-Liverpool remarks spark Premier League referee crisis

Sports leagues won't ever tolerate the questioning of their officiating. The competition can be fierce but must be fair, and the latter standard must be upheld to maintain credibility.

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The Premier League — the world's most popular soccer league and arguably its best — has been placed in an uncomfortable situation with one of its referees.

On Monday, a video surfaced of referee David Coote sharing profane and derogatory views of one of the Premier League's clubs, Liverpool FC. The 42-year-old Coote has been suspended, and an investigation is pending by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL).

In the video posted on X/Twitter, Coote is asked what he thinks of Liverpool when he was the fourth official of a match involving the club. "Um, Liverpool is s---," replies Coote. When asked about Jurgen Klopp, Coote calls the former Reds manager "a c---."

When asked to elaborate about Klopp, Coote explains that Klopp once accused him of "lying."

"I've got no interest in speaking to someone who's f---ing arrogant," he added.

The second video in the X post reveals Coote's concern about his frank comments. "Just to be clear, that f---ing last video can't go anywhere, seriously," he said.

The Athletic reported that the videos are believed to have been recorded during the 2020-21 season.

Coote has had disputes with Liverpool in the past, including last December when Klopp vehemently questioned the lack of a video review for a potential handball while Coote was the replay official. It was later revealed by referees chief Howard Webb that Coote had made an error.

Premier League supporters have long accused individual referees of having some sort of agenda against their clubs. The conspiracy theories are based on emotions rather than facts.

And that's why the Coote development is so concerning for the PGMOL and the Premier League. To have a referee making decisions with any level of alleged bias would cause considerable damage to the integrity of English football.

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