English referee David Coote, in the midst of turmoil in his country, was allegedly filmed snorting cocaine. The facts would have taken place the day after the quarter-final of the Euro between France and Portugal, where he officiated at the VAR.
David Coote. This English referee, far from being the best known in his country, is in turmoil. After a first scandal, a video where we see him insulting Liverpool and Jürgen Klopp in 2020, another extract shows him sucking a white substance with his nose, using a bank note . Cocaine, in all likelihood.
According to The Sun, which published this video, the events took place on June 6, the day after the quarter-final of the Euro between France and Portugal. David Coote was in charge of VAR, while the main referee was his compatriot Michael Oliver.
UEFA provisionally suspended this referee
UEFA quickly took action regarding this David Coote.
“The UEFA Referees Committee immediately suspended David Coote until further notice on November 11 – ahead of the next round of UEFA matches – when it became aware of his inappropriate behavior”indicated the European body in a press release.
Generally speaking, this double affair looks bad for English referees. “David Coote's career, at all levels, is obviously over, observes English journalist Henry Winter on X (ex-Twitter). He wasn't a particularly good referee but he seems to need some help. And new friends. It is a personal and professional humiliation for him and also deeply damaging for the refereeing community. The decisions of the referees will be questioned even more. The PGMOL (the body responsible for refereeing matches in English professional football) has an important task at hand to restore confidence in referees. »
France
