Premier League referee David Coote has been investigated by the FA for alleged betting infringement
Suspended Premier League referee David Coote is being investigated by the Football Association (FA) after allegations he spoke to a friend before a match about issuing a yellow card.
The allegations were first reported in the British newspaper The sun on Tuesday evening and relate to a booking received by Leeds United’s Ezgjan Alioski from Coote during their Championship match against West Bromwich Albion in October 2019.
“I strongly refute these false and defamatory allegations,” Coote said in a statement Tuesday evening.
“Whatever problems I have had in my personal life, they have never affected my decision-making on the field. I have always held the integrity of the game in high regard, refereeing matches impartially and to the best of my ability.”
The Sun reported that Coote accepted a conversation with a friend had taken place, but nothing inappropriate happened, nor is it suggested he benefited financially from the booking. Alioski was booked for a late sliding challenge and the decision seems routine.
An FA spokesperson described the allegations as “very serious” and that they are being investigated “urgently”.
The Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) – the organization that manages English football’s top officials – released a statement on Tuesday evening saying that “the facts must be established” and that they “take a zero-tolerance approach to any breach” of their rules. integrity code, whereby the “PGMOL board undertakes to take appropriate action should a breach of that Code be proven”.
Leeds said on Wednesday they were aware of the allegations and have “full confidence in the FA, EFL and PGMOL regulations and processes”.
Coote was initially suspended by the PGMOL on November 11 after a video of him making insulting comments about Jurgen Klopp, the former Liverpool manager, was posted online. Three days later, The Sun published a video showing someone they claimed was Coote sniffing white powder through a rolled up US banknote.
The Sun reported that the video was from July 6, a day after the Euro 2024 quarter-final between France and Portugal in Hamburg, where Coote was the assistant VAR.
The Athletics has not been able to verify the video nor confirm Coote’s identity, but the PGMOL responded when asked to comment on it, saying they were “aware of the allegations and are taking them very seriously”.
UEFA also suspended Coote from refereeing in its competitions on November 11, two days before The Sun released his video, and are investigating the 42-year-old for a “possible breach” of its regulations.
Coote is also subject to a separate FA investigation over a possible breach of the rules regarding his comments about Klopp.
In the statement released on Tuesday evening, the PGMOL added: “David Coote remains suspended and subject to an ongoing disciplinary process by PGMOL, separate from the investigation into this matter which will be conducted independently by the FA.”
(Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
