QUESTION of the week — who would be a referee?
One faces the sack after using a naughty word about Jurgen Klopp.
Another in Turkey at least got some justice after being whacked in the face by a club president.
We can dispense quickly with ref David Coote’s angry little outburst against the former Liverpool manager.
His addition of “German” to a part of a woman’s anatomy is not going down well with the FA, which ordered an investigation.
Coote failed to prevent the release of a private video which recorded his comment and this particular coot was out of the bag and flying at Klopp.
It wasn’t much of an insult really, one heard all the time on the field and in the stands — without the “German” bit.
No doubt even the full curse has been heard by Klopp himself.
Even so, with the subsequent other videos which have surfaced in this newspaper to add to the first, you can expect Coote’s sacking to be confirmed.
If you require something rather more painful, try MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca’s right-hander that broke the eye socket of Halil Umut Meler.
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Koca was furious after Ankaragucu conceded an equaliser to ten-man Caykur in the 97th minute of a game in December 2023.
Who blew the final whistle — if it was ever blown — has been lost in translation.
First man: “What did you think of the Liverpool game earlier when you were fourth official?”
Second man (allegedly Coote): “Erm Liverpool were s***.”
First man: “What did you think of Jurgen Klopp?”
Second man (allegedly Coote): “C***, absolute c***.”
First man: “Why would you say that Jurgen Klopp is a c***?”
Second man (allegedly Coote): “Erm, aside from having a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown.
“Then, he accused me of lying and then just had a right f***ing pop at me – and I’ve got no interest in speaking to somebody whose f***ing arrogant.
“So I do my best not to speak to him. [James] Milner is alright, I get on with Milner.”
First man: “James Milner, he gets on with James Milner.”
Second man (allegedly Coote): “You can see me there with mask on.”
First man: “Mask on, obviously.”
Second man (allegedly Coote): “Yea Covid, got to be done. Social distancing right? We’re two meters apart.”
First man: “We have to social distance.”
Second man (allegedly Coote): “Yep, so but [exhales] my God. German c***, f*** me.”
First man: “Long story short, Jurgen Klopp’s a c***, Liverpool are all f***ing b******s, we hate Scousers.”
Second video
Second man (allegedly Coote): “Right just to be clear, that f***ing last video cant go anywhere, seriously.”
First man: He’s a Premier League referee, let’s not f***ing ruin his career.
“Like let’s face we’re good blokes but we can’t ruin a bloke’s career. We’re not that bad. Also he’s a f***ing legend.”
Second man (allegedly Coote): “So, yeah.”
First man: “So lets not ruin his career.”
As Meler collapsed to the floor, other men started kicking him.
He was taken to hospital for emergency surgery as politicians and football gentry queued to say how appalling the incident was.
That incident led to all Turkish Super Lig football being suspended for a week.
Yet last week, that self-anointed sage of world football Jose Mourinho suggested officiating in the country’s top flight “smells bad”.
Mourinho — Fenerbahce boss since June — questioned why fans from other countries would watch the game there.
The former Chelsea manager has complained about refs wherever he has coached.
But his views have forceful support, even if many people in football see his criticism as an application for a job elsewhere.
However, Meler has a good reputation as a top Fifa and Uefa ref and officiated West Ham in the Conference League last season.
Meler recalled: “Faruk Koca punched me under my left eye.
“I fell. While I was on the ground, other people kicked me in the face and other parts of my body many times.”
Koca was this week sentenced to 3½ years in jail.
But he is yet to start that term pending an appeal, with Ankaragucu chairman Ismail Mert Firat arguing “no disgraceful crime” was committed.
There isn’t a football-playing country in the world without conflict between fans and referees — and Turkey isn’t alone in featuring furious club officers.
In Brazil, a fourth-division president punched a referee last year and was banned for 30 days.
In DR Congo, a referee was chased from the field by women players and supporters for failing to award a penalty. Women! I thought better of us.
Verbal attacks and match violence all over the world.
In Spain, they count offences in the hundreds. In the UK, too.
Ivan Savvidis, the gun-carrying owner of Greek side Thessaloniki and his bodyguards marched on to the pitch after the ref disallowed a last-minute goal during a game with AEK Athens in 2018.
And in the United States, a player was jailed for a minimum eight years in 2015 after punching a ref — who died two days after.
The world seems to be suffering from a social disease and at the centre of it is the poor old ref.
By comparison, Coote’s language is warm air in a thunderstorm of disgraceful behaviour.
EXCLUSIVE by Martin Lipton
NO referees or match officials have ever been tested for drugs – as David Coote’s apparent “cocaine shame” is set to end his career.
While all players and other athletes in British sport are subject to drug testing rules, including post-match and out of competition action, the regulations do not apply to match officials.
That is the case globally across not just football and throughout the world rather than only in the UK.
All sports follow the World Anti-Doping Authority code, aimed at preventing athletes gaining an advantage by using performance-enhancing substances.
The Wada banned list also includes recreational drugs.
But the Wada provisions, also followed by UK Anti Doping, which conducts tests across British sport, makes no reference to match officials.
UKAD explains: “Any UK athlete subject to the anti-doping rules of their sport and non-UK athlete staying, training, residing, entering a competition,
“Or named as a member of a team participating in a competition at any level within the UK is eligible for testing as part of UKAD’s national anti-doping programme.
“Any athlete eligible for testing can be tested anytime, anywhere.”
But the regulations do not apply to match officials – because of the “performance enhancing” provision of the world code.
The PGMOL have revealed they are aware of the video of him sniffing a white powder.
They told The Sun: “We aware of the allegations and are taking them very seriously. David Coote remains suspended pending a full investigation.
“David’s welfare continues to be of utmost importance to us and we are committed to providing him with the ongoing necessary support he needs through this period.
“We are not in a position to comment further at this stage.”
