Former Premier League referee David Coote has been handed an eight-week ban by the Football Association (FA) for comments made about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp on social media.
Coote, who was sacked by the Premier League in December 2024, was found guilty of an “aggravated breach” of FA Rule E3.2 due to a reference he made to Klopp’s nationality in a leaked video. The clip, filmed around July 2020, surfaced online in November 2024.
The 42-year-old admitted the charge, with the FA’s written verdict noting he had expressed “deep remorse” and accepted his comments were “crass and inappropriate.” In addition to the suspension, Coote must attend a mandatory face-to-face education programme.
Coote was initially suspended in November 2024 after the clip showed him making derogatory remarks about Klopp and Liverpool.
The following month, the Premier League referees’ body, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), terminated his contract after conducting its investigation.
In February 2025, UEFA also banned Coote from officiating in European competitions until June 30, 2026. This followed the emergence of a separate video in November 2024 showing him sniffing a white powder while on duty at Euro 2024.
In January 2025, Coote publicly came out as gay, revealing he had hidden his sexuality during his career for fear of abuse.
In June 2024, he was cleared of any gambling misconduct after being accused of discussing issuing a yellow card to a player before a match.
However, he accepted that the leaked Klopp video, filmed shortly after the UK emerged from its first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, was “likely to cause hurt and reputational damage” once in the public domain.
