Video footage appears to have emerged of David Coote indulging in a foul-mouthed rant about Jurgen Klopp in which he repeatedly used inflammatory language to defame the ex-Liverpool manager.
The 42-year-old refereed our win over Aston Villa on Saturday and sensationally deemed Leon Bailey’s last-man challenge on Mo Salah not to be a foul prior to Darwin Nunez scoring.
Notably, he was also the VAR official on the day that Jordan Pickford inflicted an ACL injury on Virgil van Dijk in the Merseyside derby in October 2020, when the Everton goalkeeper escaped without any form of punishment.
Empire of the Kop sources obtained footage (now widely shared online) of video clips which appear to show a friend of Coote asking him what he thought of one Reds performance, to which the Premier League ref is seen answering: “Liverpool were s**t”.
Coote in alleged foul-mouthed Klopp tirade
When he was then asked for his thoughts on Klopp, the video shows the referee appearing to let rip: “C**t, absolute c**t. Aside from having a right pop at me when I was reffing against Burnley in lockdown, he accused me of lying and then just had a right f***ing pop at me. I’ve got no interest in speaking to somebody as f***ing arrogant. I do my best not to speak to him…my god, German c***t. F*** me.”
The individual alongside Coote then said: “Long story short, Jurgen Klopp’s a c***t, Liverpool are all f***ing bellends and we hate Scousers.”
A subsequent video shows a man – alleged to be referee David Coote – requesting that the footage not be shared, a plea which has evidently gone unheeded, despite his colleague imploring viewers not to ‘ruin his career’.
It’s unclear as to exactly when this video was recorded, and it’s not 100% certain as to what the context is and whether it was said in jest or reflects the 42-year-old’s innermost views on Klopp.
There is likewise the possibility (however unlikely it may or may not be), as the Daily Mail‘s Lewis Steele has pointed out online, that the video in question was AI-generated.
Video in question is here. Worth saying it could well be a deepfake/AI. https://t.co/1BPkO6MnTe
— Lewis Steele (@LewisSteele_) https://twitter.com/LewisSteele_/status/1855980592095006876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Regardless of when it was said or in what context (if the clips are indeed legitimate), it’s still not a good look for a professional Premier League referee in Coote to be seen making such inflammatory remarks about any manager working, or formerly working, in the division.
PGMOL investigating video involving David Coote
Ben Jacobs reported on X (formerly Twitter) that the PGMOL is understood to be investigating the issue in question.
Understand PGMOL are aware of a video circulating on here involving referee David Coote and are investigating.
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) https://twitter.com/JacobsBen/status/1855979728504557601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
You can see the clips of Coote’s foul-mouthed rant below, as obtained by Empire of the Kop sources:
