Former Premier League referee David Coote has been banned for eight weeks by the Football Association (FA). The ban comes after he made offensive comments about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in a video.
The FA said Coote’s remarks were an “aggravated breach” of rule E3.2 because they included a reference to Klopp’s nationality. The 42-year-old admitted the charge.
The video was filmed around July 2020, shortly after the UK’s first Covid-19 lockdown. It was leaked online in November 2024. Coote was already suspended at that time, and the Premier League referees’ body the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) sacked him in December 2024 after an investigation.
The FA’s written reasons said Coote had shown “deep remorse” and accepted that his comments were “crass and inappropriate.” He also agreed that they were “likely to cause hurt and reputational damage” once made public.
More Problems for Former Referee David Coote
This is not the first controversy Coote has faced. In February 2025, UEFA banned him from refereeing European matches until 30 June 2026. That ban came after a different video surfaced in November 2024. It appeared to show him sniffing a white powder while working at Euro 2024.
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In June 2025, Coote was cleared of gambling misconduct. There had been claims he spoke about giving a player a yellow card before a match, but the case was dismissed.
Coote has also spoken openly about his personal struggles. In January 2025, he revealed he was gay, saying he hid his sexuality during his career because he feared abuse. He added that the pandemic and the years after had badly affected his mental health.
For the Klopp comments case, the FA has ordered him to complete a face-to-face education programme. Coote did not attend the hearing but said he believed he was speaking in private when making the remarks.
Despite the bans, Coote’s career as a referee had already ended with his dismissal from the Premier League in 2024. The incidents have left him without any role in top-level football for the foreseeable future.
