PGMOL chief Howard Webb has confirmed that ‘a full investigation’ will take place after a leaked video of Premier League official David Coote emerged online.
Coote has been suspended by referees’ chiefs after footage – which appears to be several years old showed him calling then Reds boss Klopp a ‘German ****’ and ‘f***ing arrogant’.
PGMOL, the body responsible for refereeing games in England, are investigating the authenticity of the footage in question, which Webb confirmed on Tuesday night.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ show Mic’d Up, Webb said: ‘We became aware, Leon [Osman], 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.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb (pictured) has broken his silence over the emergence of a controsversial leaked video of Premier League official David Coote
Coote (above) described Jurgen Klopp as a ‘German ****’ in a foul-mouthed tirade during the video and has since been suspended by refereeing chiefs PGMOL while they investigate
Coote (left) tells the camera ‘that f***ing last video cannot go anywhere’ in the second video uploaded online while the man identified as Kitt (right) says ‘let’s not ‘f***ing ruin his career’
‘There’s not much more I can say at this stage until we’ve worked through that investigation’.
The PGMOL confirmed Coote has been suspended with immediate effect in a statement on Monday.
It read: ‘David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect pending a full investigation. PGMOL will be making no further comment until that process is complete.’
The astonishing video, which has gone viral on social media, appears to show Coote looking worse for wear as he delivers 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, the man added: ‘Just to be clear, that f***ing last video cannot go anywhere, seriously.’
Coote has been a Premier League referee since 2018 and has since had plenty of run-ins with Klopp, who left Anfield at the end of last campaign.
Midway through last season during Arsenal’s clash with Liverpool in December, Klopp vented his fury at Coote and the rest of the match officials after his side were denied a penalty despite Martin Odegaard appearing to handle the ball inside the 18-yard box.
Coote and former Liverpool boss Klopp had several runs in with each other over the years
Coote was the man in charge during Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Aston Villa this weekend
Chris Kavanagh, who was the match referee, waved play on and the game was not stopped for a VAR check by the officials, with Coote confident that the Norwegian only handled the ball in the act of falling, which isn’t deemed punishable by the Premier League’s rules.
‘Yes I have seen it,’ Klopp fumed after the game. ‘I am pretty sure someone will come to explain it to me why it was not a handball but I don’t know how? I don’t say that the ref can see it because I don’t know where he was in that moment.’
Referring to Coote’s role in the incident, he added: ‘But how can a guy in an office see that and not come to the conclusion that maybe, possibly it could be worth the referee having another look?’
Webb, head of PGMOL, subsequently admitted that Kavanagh and Coote made a mistake by not awarding Liverpool a penalty during the 1-1 draw.
