As if there wasn’t enough to argue about already in football, the revelations and ongoing saga about Premier League referee David Coote’s antics have caused outrage, fuelled conspiracy theories about bias in the game, and created a serious headache for PGMOL (the body responsible for refereeing professional football games in England).
Coote has found himself in the maelstrom of public opinion following a series of damaging revelations. Firstly, on 11 November video of Coote making very rude and derogatory remarks about Liverpool FC and their then manager Jurgen Klopp surfaced online. Coote was suspended with immediate effect pending a full investigation by PGMOL.
In a second video which came to light later that same week and was originally published by the Sun, Coote appears to be sniffing white powder during the summer’s European Championship in Germany, where he was officiating. PGMOL has said it is “aware of the allegations” and is “taking them very seriously” while committing to support Coote and preserve his welfare at this challenging time.
Referees are already under intense scrutiny from fans, pundits and media alike and their decisions are routinely under the microscope, even more so since the launch of the Video Assistant Referee. Verbal and even physical abuse of match officials is rife across the English game which is deplorable, and fans invariably claim bias from match officials when decisions go against their team, particularly if the decision is later shown to have been incorrect.
However, the Coote saga has thrown fuel on the fire of the conspiracy theorists. On the one hand, there is the perception that Coote’s outburst regarding Liverpool and Klopp calls into question his ability to act impartially and has seen many of the decisions he made in the eight Liverpool games he has been involved in poured over for any indication of bias.
On the other hand, the incident with the white powder (if indeed it was a narcotic) is not only illegal but raises questions over his ability to have officiated international matches at the highest level with a clear mind.
Quite why Coote was happy to be filmed, either during his foul-mouthed tirade about Klopp or his consumption of suspected illicit substances certainly calls his judgement into question. In one clip he even explains that the video “can’t go anywhere, seriously” so he was aware of the potential ramifications should it leak, which it inevitably did.
Premier League referees are paid handsomely (though nothing like the footballers and managers they are there to keep in line on the pitch) and for that they are expected to act with impartiality, professionalism and discretion. Most fans accept that there is likely to be a degree of human error over the course of a season and hope that any such errors are minimised. What they can’t accept is the idea that a match official has purposefully and unfairly penalised their team due to their own personal feelings and bias.
The problem with Coote is we will probably never really know whether his feelings towards Klopp and Liverpool actually led to bias on the pitch or influenced his decision making to Liverpool’s (or indeed any other club’s) detriment.
Despite the inevitable calls from some quarters for Coote to be quickly given the boot, the PGMOL investigation is likely to be thorough, as they certainly won’t want to throw one of their own under the team bus without fair due process.
But even if Coote is found not to have acted in a way that warrants his dismissal, one wonders whether he could realistically be reintegrated into the PGMOL fold. He would definitely get a furious reception from Liverpool fans were he ever to officiate again in front of the Kop and questions about his integrity and decision making would doubtless dog him from ground to ground. Could he ever referee a match involving a title competitor of Liverpool, given the perception of his bias against them? Would he even be welcome in the lower leagues or overseas?
Only time will tell but he’s certainly scored a catastrophic own goal which threatens to end his career and has brought unwanted scrutiny on match officials who already face immense challenges to their authority in the febrile pressure cooker of professional league football. Perhaps one day we can get back to talking about footballers’ skills on the pitch, not the refereeing decisions and off-field antics of the other protagonists!
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David Little is a Partner at Bishop & Sewell in our expert Sports Law and Corporate & Commercial teams. If you would like to contact him, please call on either 07968 027343 or, 020 7631 4141 or email: company@bishopandsewell.co.uk.
The above is accurate as at 19 November 2024. The information above may be subject to change.
The content of this note should not be considered legal advice and each matter should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
