Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has unveiled his opinion about Jurgen Klopp and discussed the situation that David Coote dismissed by the PGMOL in December 2024 by the PGMOL.
Mark Clattenburg has labeled the former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp “very strange” after incidents during his own referee career. The 50-year-old referred 297 games in the Premier League before they retired in 2017.
Clattenburg was at the top of his profession and officer of the 2016 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. In the beginning of 2024, he was appointed controversial as a referee analyst Van Nottingham Forest and left the role three months later.
In an appearance on the undr de Cosh podcast, Clattenburg talked about the former Premier League referee David Coote dismissed after a video of him that ex-liverpool boss Klopp a “German C ***” was leaked. Coote was rejected by the PGMOL in December last year, after another video showed him that he sniffed cocaine. The 42-year-old admitted that he used the medicine as an “escape” after wrestling with his sexuality, when gay came out in an interview in January of this year.
Clattenburg has expressed his opinion about the situation around Coote and Klopp, as he argued: “It is absolutely waste. If a referee has an opinion, we say that English referees are corrupt by thinking that he has a problem with Liverpool? No, it is just his honest opinion that he did not love Jurgen Klopp.
“I didn't like Jurgen Klopp, I thought he was strange. Didn't mean he was a bad manager. He was an incredibly good manager. I found him very strange.”
Reminder of an incident for a Liverpool match with Chelsea, Clattenburg described a tense pre-match meeting after Klopp had made the unusual decision to personally divide the Reds team sheet. “Jurgen Klopp came in and I thought,” This is bizarre, this, “Clattenburg explained.” And he just stared at us for 30 seconds. I never said a word. I never said a word. After 30 seconds I just said to John Terry and Jordan Henderson: “I just see you.” And he just stared at us.
Clattenburg went out on the difficulties with which Coote has had to deal with his vacancies since he was dismissed by PGMOL and suspended by UEFA until June 2026. Think of personally needed to repeat his past career as an electrician as an electrician as an electrician, Clattenburg who is played with a liver manager.
“If you lose your job, for example Dave Coote, it is a huge moment of his life,” Clattenburg admitted. “He gives up his career to become a referee and now he has lost his career, what is he doing now?
“I know he delivers boxes, but it's hard for him because everyone thinks that referees are a protected species and they have huge houses, massive cars. They are just people from the working class, but they don't have a career after that. Everyone sees you as the weather. Everyone sees you spoiled everyone from everyone.”
Clattenburg also discussed the difficulty in maintaining friendships as a referee and stated that a more close circle would have prevented Coot to lose its job. “For example, Dave Coote, what he has experienced and someone in his friendship group has decided to leak that video,” said Clattenburg.
“They are not friends. But if he had really good friends, that video would still not be out. Unfortunately, as things are, it is so difficult.”
In the meantime, Clattenburg's memory of Klopp's behavior during a pre-match meeting was not the only uncomfortable encounter between the couple. Clattenburg had practiced a quarter-final play of the Champions League in Klopp's Time in Borussia Dortmund, which resulted in a 3-0 victory for Real Madrid in 2014. Klopp happened to ran past the referee's dressing room at a less than Ipsmoment after the latter.
“I had a run-in with him when he was at Dortmund and criticize people, but what can I say in this situation?” Said Clattenburg. “It was Marcelo, he played for Real Madrid. I came outside my dressing room and he said,” Can I have a photo? ” I have had players to ask my shirt.
“While the photo was taken, Jurgen Klopp, who was Dortmund's manager, passed. He turned around and said:” That's why we were defeated. “I was, I turned around and said,” Aye, that's why you are three f ****** zero defeated, so f *** off. ” '