Liverpool have chosen to remain silent on the ongoing investigation into Premier League referee David Coote after a foul-mouthed video related to the English official went viral on Monday.
The footage surfaced on social media on Monday afternoon showing the 42-year-old making disparaging remarks about Liverpool and their former manager Jürgen Klopp, just days after the referee was the man in the middle for the Reds’ 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Anfield.
The video showed Coote stating that Liverpool played “s**t” in a game that he was at and that Klopp is a “c**t” after a recent incident with the German coach.
According to The Athletic’s James Pearce, Liverpool are aware of the video – but in light of an investigation being launched, they believe it would be inappropriate to make any comment at this stage.
The Mirror’s Darren Lewis reports that Coote “vehemently denies” inappropriate conduct and has been insistent to referee chiefs PGMOL that the viral video in which he appears is not genuine. PGMOL have tech experts examining the footage, which will form part of their investigation.
The footage in which Coote appears is currently being verified to see if it is genuine and if it turns out to be the Coote, it would appear that the English official will have no future as a top-flight referee.
According to ESPN, there will be no further update from the PGMOL until the investigation has been completed, but Coote will be unavailable for selection as a referee or a VAR during this time as the football calendar enters an international break.
This is a terrible situation for the PGMOL as their relationship with fans of English clubs was already on thin ice. The mistrust between supporters and officials will only grow from here and it will take a lot of hard work for the refereeing body to mend it.
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