A heated exchange between referee David Coote, Andy Robertson and Jurgen Klopp in 2020 could have led to the official lashing out at Liverpool and their former boss.
Premier League referee Coote has been suspended by the PGMOL after a video emerged showing him calling Klopp a ‘German ****’ and ‘f***ing arrogant’. Coote also called Liverpool ‘s***’.
He has reportedly admitted it is real, as per the Mirror, though the PGMOL are investigating it and looking into whether it could have been a deep-fake or made by artificial intelligence.
Now footage has resurfaced of Coote having a barbed clash with Robertson and Klopp after Liverpool drew 1-1 with Burnley during lockdown in July 2020. A separate video also shows a brief altercation with Trent Alexander-Arnold.
In the first clip, Robertson launches a foul-mouted tirade against Coote about a penalty decision while Klopp also gesticulates and approaches the referee.
Andy Robertson and Jurgen Klopp kicked off at David Coote after Liverpool played Burnley in 2020
David Coote has reportedly admitted that footage of him calling Jurgen Klopp a ‘German ****’ in a foul-mouted tirade about Liverpool is genuine
‘You didn’t see anything in the whole game apart from (inaudible) in the last minute,’ the Scottish defender says. ‘F*** me.
‘What’s the point of having youse in the middle? What’s the point in having you? F*** me, honestly.’
While the microphones clearly picked up Robertson’s words, it is not clear from the footage what Klopp says as he leans towards Coote and walks alongside him.
In another video from the same post-match scenes, Alexander-Arnold says: ‘…(if) it’s not a penalty (…) the contact echoed round the f***ing stadium.’
That draw with the Clarets ended Liverpool’s hopes of winning all of their home matches in that campaign and Klopp has incensed afterwards.
‘We didn’t close the game and they took their moment. It feels like we lost a game, we have to look after the game better. We were angry with the referee but we have to criticise ourselves first for not finishing the game,’ he said.
Coote has been in the headlines after a video of a man appearing to be him tearing into Liverpool and Klopp emerged. The astonishing video, which has gone viral on social media, appears to show Coote looking worse for wear.
‘Liverpool were s***,’ said the man alleged to be Coote in the video. ‘(Klopp is a) ****, absolute ****. Aside from having a right pop at me when I was refereeing them against Burnley in lockdown, he accused me of lying and then had a right f***ing pop of me.
Coote, who was the man in charge during Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Aston Villa this weekend, has been suspended with immediate effect by PGMOL pending a full investigation
‘I have no interest in speaking to someone who is f***ing arrogant. So I do my best not to speak to him. (James) Milner is all right, I get on with him. You can see me there with a ‘mask’ on. But, my god, German ****, f*** me.’
In a second video, the man added: ‘Just to be clear, that f***ing last video cannot go anywhere, seriously.’
Coote has been a Premier League referee since 2018 and has since had plenty of run-ins with Klopp, who left Anfield at the end of last campaign.
Midway through last season during Arsenal’s clash with Liverpool in December, Klopp vented his fury at Coote and the rest of the match officials after his side were denied a penalty despite Martin Odegaard appearing to handle the ball inside the 18-yard box.
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Chris Kavanagh, who was the match referee, waved play on and the game was not stopped for a VAR check by the officials, with Coote confident that the Norwegian only handled the ball in the act of falling, which isn’t deemed punishable by the Premier League’s rules.
‘Yes I have seen it,’ Klopp fumed after the game. ‘I am pretty sure someone will come to explain it to me why it was not a handball but I don’t know how? I don’t say that the ref can see it because I don’t know where he was in that moment.’
Referring to Coote’s role in the incident, he added: ‘But how can a guy in an office see that and not come to the conclusion that maybe, possibly it could be worth the referee having another look?’
Howard Webb, head of PGMOL, subsequently admitted that Kavanagh and Coote made a mistake by not awarding Liverpool a penalty during the 1-1 draw.
