Former Premier League referee David Coote has disclosed that he is gay and revealed a lifelong struggle with his sexuality led to “really poor choices” following his high-profile dismissal last year.

The 42-year-old has issued an apology after he was sacked when footage of an X-rated rant directed at ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp went viral, along with images of him taking cocaine, and reports he talked about booking a Leeds United player before a game.

He has now admitted he “deeply regrets his remarks” and insisted he was not involved with spot-fixing. He also said he has stopped taking cocaine, a drug he described feeling “shame” at having to use to deal with the stresses of his job, including receiving death threats, as well as having to hide his sexuality for fear of facing abuse.

Speaking to The Sun on Monday, the newspaper that initially published both the series of leaked videos and images of him, Coote said: “My sexuality isn’t the only reason that led me to be in that position. But I’m not telling an authentic story if I don’t say that I’m gay and that I’ve had real struggles with hiding that.

“I hid my emotions as a young ref and I hid my sexuality as well – a good quality as a referee but a terrible quality as a human being. And that’s led me to a whole course of behaviours.”

Coote was initially suspended last October after the first video emerged, before his contract was terminated by the referee’s body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in December following its investigation into the footage.

In the initial video, Coote is seen being asked for his views on a Liverpool match where he has just been fourth official and describes them as “s***”. He then calls Klopp a “c***”, and, asked why he felt that way, Coote says the German had “a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown”, before going on to describe Klopp as “f****** arrogant” and “a German c***”.

Admitting he was “not sober” during the filming of the initial video by a friend, Coote told The Sun of his remarks: “I recognise that they fell well short of standards that are expected of a top-level referee and I deeply regret saying what I said. The comments are not reflective of my views of any of the individuals concerned or my wider views in general.”

The 42-year-old is still under investigation by the Football Association and UEFA – for potential aggravated misconduct over his mocking comments to Mr Klopp, and, separately, over accusations he talked with a friend about the possibility of issuing a yellow card to Leeds United’s Ezgjan Alioski before a match against West Bromwich Albion in 2019.

The friend reportedly told Coote he was putting money on Alioski getting booked – and Coote did then give Alioski a yellow card in the game, before later messaging his friend: “I hope you backed as discussed.”

However, Coote insisted in his interview: “There was no agreement prior to the game. I went and did my job. The player committed a yellow-card tackle. I received nothing for it.

“I’m really disappointed that anything like this has come out because it tarnishes the integrity of the game. And whatever people think of me as a referee, as a human I have always gone out and done my best on the pitch.

“I wasn’t in a great place, and I was messaging people that in hindsight I shouldn’t have trusted. I was naive. [I] made some really poor choices and I really wish I could turn back the clock now and do things differently.”

Further photographs shared by The Sun in November, which the newspaper claimed were taken during Euro 2024, appeared to show Coote sniffing a white powder through a rolled-up bank note.

Coote said: “I don’t recognise myself in the cocaine video. I can’t resonate with how I felt then, but that was me.

“I was struggling with the schedule and there was no opportunity to stop. And so I found myself in that position – escaping. I’ve had long periods where I’ve not used it – but it was one of the escape routes I had. Just getting away from the stresses, the relentlessness of the job. It fills me with a huge sense of shame to say that I took that route.”

Coote said he and his late mother had received death threats following decisions he made on the field and cited his own example to show how relentless abuse from the stands and on social media could impact the mental health of officials.

“I’ve received death threats during my career,” Coote revealed. “I’ve needed an accelerated response tag on my home address for me to speak to the police in an emergency. I’ve also had messages from irate supporters hoping that I had an accident on the way home from a game. I’ve struggled and I’ve tried to get through it in my own way and made poor decisions in doing so.”

In a separate statement released late on Monday night, Coote said: “This has been one of the most difficult periods of my life. I take full responsibility for my actions, which fell way below what was expected of me.

“I am truly sorry for any offence caused by my actions and for the negative spotlight, it put on the game that I love. I hope people will understand that they were private moments taken during very low times in my life. They do not reflect who I am today or what I think.

“My focus now is on continuing to prioritise my mental health and wellbeing. I hope that my experiences, both on and off the field, can be utilised in football at some point in the future.

“Finally, I want to thank everyone who has supported me recently.”