David Coote must never referee Liverpool again after shocking leaked video

The start of an international break usually signals the beginning of a quiet news period in club football.

But the emergence of the already infamous video of David Coote appearing to call Liverpool "----" and describe Jurgen Klopp as a "German ----" ensured that wouldn't be the case on Monday. The authenticity of the video is yet to be verified, but Coote was quickly suspended by the PGMOL pending a full investigation and has reportedly admitted that the footage is genuine.

It is unclear what punishment will be dished out to Coote, but one thing that is certain is that he can never be allowed to officiate a Liverpool match in any capacity again. It is also unclear when the video was recorded, but the suggestion is that the footage is several years old, and probably from 2020 - a year in which Liverpool manager Klopp was publicly critical of Coote's officiating on more than one occasion.

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Coote was the VAR when Jordan Pickford ended Virgil van Dijk's 2020-21 season and faced criticism for his role in allowing Pickford to stay on the field, while he was the referee for a 1-1 draw between Liverpool and Burnley at Anfield a few months earlier, when Klopp criticized Coote for what he perceived to be leniency towards Burnley's rough play.

Coote describing Liverpool's performance in a game he officiated in as "----" was unprofessional and worthy of reproach, yet it's hard to imagine that that remark alone would have prompted the kind of backlash the video has created. The nature of the comments about Klopp is what has rightly prompted outrage, and suggests he harbored genuine feelings of disdain towards the manager of one of the teams he refereed on several occasions in the Premier League for a number of years.

There are measures in place that prevent Premier League officials from refereeing matches involving teams they support as well as certain rival teams; Coote is a Notts County fan and therefore is ineligible to referee Premier League games involving Forest.

If Coote remains a Premier League referee when all is said and done, although there is no concrete suggestion that any anti-Liverpool bias he may or may not have has influenced his decisions during previous Liverpool matches, he should not be appointed to referee any future games involving the Reds.

In reality, Coote would probably be glad of that, given the reception he would no doubt be given by Liverpool's supporters.