FA probes Premier League referee Coote’s video rant

A social media video of Premier League referee David Coote criticizing Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp has the Football Association investigating. Professional Game Match Officials Ltd. suspended 42-year-old Coote on Monday pending an inquiry.

The Football Association is also reviewing Coote’s remarks. Coote’s comment to Klopp’s nationality may be an aggravated misconduct violation, according to its probe.

“We are aware of the matter, and we are investigating,” an FA official stated Tuesday.

Coote, who refereed Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday, called Klopp “arrogant” and disrespectful in the tape.

Mike Dean, a retired referee and TV pundit, thinks the event will hurt English football officials.

“You can say things away from camera, you can talk amongst your friends and things and colleagues, but you can’t let somebody video this and then hope that it’s never going to come out.”

In July 2020, Coote oversaw a 1-1 match between Liverpool and Burnley according to the footage. Liverpool were champions.

Klopp criticized Coote after the match for being too lax on Burnley challenges. Klopp left Liverpool last season after nearly nine years in command. The German also criticized Coote for Martin Odegaard’s hand touching the ball in a match against Arsenal last season.

VAR Coote did not advise on-field official Chris Kavanagh to review the situation. In October 2020, Coote was the VAR in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park when Toffees goalkeeper Jordan Pickford injured Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk season-endingly.

Pickford was not sent off for the challenge, and FA regulations allow retrospective action only if an incident was not observed at the time or by VAR.