Who is David Coote? Premier League referee with famous dad suspended after alleged Liverpool rant

A strange turn of events has seen Premier League referee David Coote suspended from duties with immediate effect over newly-emerging footage which allegedly showed him ranting about Liverpool and former manager Jurgen Klopp. The videos contained X-rated claims about Liverpool and former manager Jurgen Klopp.

Coote vehemently denies inappropriate conduct and has been insistent to referee chiefs PGMOL that viral video in which he appears is not genuine. PGMOL have tech experts examining it, it is understood.

Coote will not officiate an English top-flight match until a full investigation has taken place, said referees body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in a statement on Monday. This was in response to footage quickly spreading across social media this Monday - just two days after Coote took charge of the Reds' 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Anfield.

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It is unclear when the video was made or how it came into circulation, and it has not been verified. In the video, a man is asked by an unidentified associate what he made of a Liverpool game he acted as fourth official for. "Liverpool were s***," he appears to respond.

Asked for his view on Klopp, the man in the video says: "A c**t, an absolute (unintelligible). Aside from having a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown, when he accused me of lying then just had a right f***ing pop at me, I've got no interest in speaking to somebody who is f***ing arrogant. So I do my best not to speak to him. (James) Milner is all right.

"But, my God, a German c***t, f*** me." In a second video on social media, the man appears to state: "Just to be clear, that last f***ing video can't go anywhere, seriously."

With the full truth yet to be fully established, here is a summary of everything the Liverpool ECHO knows about Coote.

Refereeing career

Coote began his refereeing career at the age of 16, starting out by filling in at his father and uncle's local Newark Alliance League matches. "We didn't have an assistant referee so, to avoid the club getting a fine, I was thrown the flag," he told the EFL in 2012.

"If Dad reckoned I'd made a few dubious offside calls during a game, it did lead to a few arguments when we got home. Most of the time, though, he was OK."

From there he would begin at National League level. In 2010 he later progressed to the Football League, taking on the 2014 League One play-off final between Leyton Orient and Rotherham United, and his rapid rise through the system was complete by 2018, when Newcastle United vs West Bromwich Albion became his first Premier League assignment.

Promoted to the PGMOL's Select Group 1 ahead of the 2018/19 campaign, he has since then he has been officiated 224 English top-flight matches, according to Transfermarkt.

In 2020 he also became FIFA listed official between 2020 and 2022, but has not actually officiated any European matches in his career.

Famous father

Coote is the son of namesake David Coote, who between 1977 and 2005 was active as a left-handed batsman in cricket. His career started with Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club in his first year playing, then for five years played for Nottinghamshire CCC Seconds.

For the remainder of his career, Coote Snr played for Collingham in the Nottinghamshire Premier League.

Coote Jnr somewhat followed in his father's footsteps, captaining Nottinghamshire at younger age levels, also as a batsman.

Liverpool record

Again referring to Transfermarkt, Coote has been the on-field referee eight times in all competitions since the 2019/20 season. The Reds have won five of those, drawing one and losing the other two. In these matches he has shown Liverpool 14 yellow cards and no red cards.

Fresh in the memory from Saturday night was his decision to signal no foul when Aston Villa's Leon Bailey brought down Mohamed Salah when through on goal in the first half. It would ultimately prove inconsequential with Darwin Nunez netting the opener, but in the build-up it seemed like denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Coote has also acted as the video assistant referee (VAR) in a further 12 Liverpool matches in all competitions. Half of these - six - were won, three were drawn and three were lost. It is in this role that his name has brought about the most controversy amongst Reds circles.

Casting minds back to October 2020, he was VAR for the 2-2 Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. During that lockdown match Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford wasn't punished for the horror tackle that gave Virgil van Dijk a season-ending ACL injury, then in stoppage time Coote's drawing of offside lines ruled out a Jordan Henderson winner by the tightest of margins.

After that he would not be VAR of a Reds match for over three years, and once he was given the duty it only took him a short period of time before causing more controversy. When Arsenal claimed a 1-1 draw at Anfield in December last season, he deemed Martin Odegaard not to have handled the ball in the penalty area.