David Coote breaks silence to allegations on booking a player before a match

David Coote has hit back at allegations that surfaced last night, claiming he discussed booking a player before refereeing a match five years ago.

Coote is currently suspended by the referees after a leaked video circulated online earlier this month in which he allegedly called former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp a 'German ****' and the Anfield club a '***'.

The PGMOL (the body responsible for refereeing matches in England) is also investigating a video of a man believed to be Coote snorting a white powder in a hotel room during last summer's European Championship where he was refereeing.

Mail Sport reported last week how the investigation into the official is still ongoing.

Then, new allegations emerged on Tuesday evening surrounding a Championship match between Leeds and West Brom in October 2019.

It was reported in The Sun newspaper that Coote had a text message exchange with a 'friend' in which it was suggested that Leeds player Ezgjan Alioski would be shown a yellow card during the game at Elland Road, with the North Macedonian star subsequently in the 18th minute was warned.

However, Coote spoke for the first time since the allegations emerged, protesting his innocence and denouncing the 'false and defamatory accusations'.

In a statement, he said: “I strongly refute these false and defamatory allegations.

“Whatever problems I've had in my personal life have never affected my decision-making on the field.

'I have always upheld the integrity of the game, refereeing matches impartially and to the best of my ability.'

During the 18th minute of the aforementioned match, Alioski was shown a yellow card by Coote after sliding into West Brom's Darnell Furlong.

An FA spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday evening that they were investigating the matter.

“These are very serious allegations and we are investigating them urgently,” the statement said.

The Sun report Coote denies any wrongdoing and there is no evidence the official made any financial gain. The decision to give the yellow card is also considered the correct decision by the referee given the nature of the challenge.

Coote insists nothing untoward happened during their conversation and reportedly claims he was only having 'banter' with the friend.

During the exchange, Coote is said to have bragged to the Leeds fan that he would be refereeing the Championship match against the Baggies.

It is reported that the fan jokingly told Coote to give Alioski a yellow card during the match so he could bet on that outcome in advance.

On the eve of the match, the friend replied to another Coote message by saying: 'Oooh big game. Are we still working on what we discussed? Maybe I can do that.'

Coote replied: 'Haha, I don't know what you mean.'

The friend added, “Haha, I'm going there tomorrow morning so don't let me down.”

“Haha, let's see,” Coote replied.

A day after the match, Coote said to the friend: 'What a day yesterday. I hope you supported it as discussed.”

The Leeds fan responded by saying he had not bet on the outcome, and admitted another friend was 'backing it'.

“Haha, then he will have to share it with you,” the referee is said to have replied.

Alioski was ultimately the match winner for Leeds that day, scoring the only goal of the match in their 1–0 win at Elland Road.

The latest allegations come amid a firestorm in which Coote is at the center, following the emergence of a clip which appeared to show him calling Liverpool 's***' and describing Jurgen Klopp as a 'German ****'.

This was then followed by a video showing a man believed to be the official sniffing a white powder during the European Championships he was refereeing at earlier this year.

PGMOL (the body responsible for refereeing matches in England) says it is taking claims against the 42-year-old 'very seriously'.

A spokesperson for PGMOL said: 'We are following an internal process and are taking the allegations surrounding David Coote's conduct very seriously as part of our ongoing, full and thorough investigation. Although David remains suspended, his well-being remains important to us and he is aware of the support network available to him.”

Coote was withdrawn from the Premier League as well as international and European competition by UEFA, which is also investigating.

“The UEFA Refereeing Committee immediately suspended David Coote until further notice on November 11 when it became aware of his inappropriate behaviour,” a spokesperson said.

In the first clip, the Nottinghamshire official claimed Klopp was being 'arrogant'. “Apart from right-winging me when I turned them down against Burnley during lockdown, he (Klopp) accused me of lying and came down hard on me,” Coote said.

“I'm not interested in talking to someone who's damn arrogant. I try my best not to talk to him. 'My God, German ****, fuck me.'

He also added: 'Liverpool was s***. (Klopp is a) ****, absolutely ****.

'(James) Milner is doing well, I get on with him. You see me there with a 'mask' on.'

In a second video, the man added, “Just to be clear, that damn last video isn't going anywhere, seriously.”

The match the man alleged to be Coote is referring to in the video was Liverpool's controversial 1-1 draw against Burnley in 2020.

Things went from bad to worse for Coote earlier this month when The Sun released an eight-second clip of him allegedly using a rolled up banknote to inhale a white powder in a hotel room during last summer's European Championship.

That video is said to have been recorded on July 6, the day after the Euro 2024 quarter-final between Portugal and France, in which Coote was a supporting VAR official and Michael Oliver was the referee.

It is also reported that the film was shot in a UEFA-funded hotel room. He has been relieved from officiating European matches by UEFA.

Finally, The Sun published reports, believed to be from an acquaintance of Coote, claiming the 42-year-old tried to set up a 'drugs party' at a Travelodge when he 'should have been concentrating' on City's match against Spurs in October . 30.

Coote is said to have booked a hotel room at 7.38pm and sent a booking notification to someone else at 8.04pm – just 11 minutes before kick-off.

The latest damning allegations claim Coote messaged a friend saying 'I hope you're getting ready (to meet)' – during half-time of City's 2-1 defeat to Spurs.

A source told The Sun: 'On the day of the match he messaged me repeatedly and wanted a drugs party after finishing at Spurs (where he was the fourth official).

'He only booked the Travelodge just before kick-off and sent a notification eleven minutes after the start of the match. It was crazy.

'The moments before and after he sent me messages. When he texted me at halftime, I thought it was so surreal.

“Surely he should have focused on the game and not on organizing drug parties.”

The source claims they eventually pulled out of the meeting with Coote and the official 'went crazy' – even asking for £73.99 in compensation for the booking fee.

Another source told the newspaper that Coote had called Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson a 'Scottish p****'.

“He did say that Goodison Park was the worst place to referee because the young Scousers were shouting, shouting, swearing and shouting every name under the sun at him before the games had even started,” the source said.