Referee Coote suspended amid Liverpool and Klopp video inquiry

David Coote officiated Liverpool's 2-0 win against Aston Villa on Saturday

Premier League referee David Coote has been suspended after a video allegedly showing him making derogatory comments about Liverpool and the club's former manager Jurgen Klopp was circulated on social media.

Refereeing body PGMOL says the suspension comes into force with immediate effect and is pending a full investigation.

The video, widely shared on social media, has not been verified by the BBC. It is unclear when it was filmed or its authenticity.

A source told the BBC that PGMOL's inquiry is treating the video as genuine.

Coote, 42, refereed Liverpool's 2-0 win against Aston Villa on Saturday. He is one of the Premier League’s most-experienced officials and has been refereeing matches in the top flight since 2018.

The video being shared appears to refer to a Premier League match that Coote officiated between Liverpool and Burnley in July 2020, which finished 1-1.

Klopp criticised Coote after the match, saying the referee failed to give fouls for challenges made on Liverpool's players.

In the video the man alleged to be Coote says Klopp had "a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown". He calls Klopp arrogant and also swears several times when referring to him.

The video shows him with another man and lasts for just over a minute. The circumstances of how the video emerged are unclear.

PGMOL says it will not be making further comment on the case until its investigation is completed.

BBC Sport has been told Liverpool are aware of the video but not commenting at this stage.

Coote, a highly-regarded international Video Assistant Referee who officiated at the Olympic Games in Paris, will now not be involved in any Nations League games this week or next.

Speaking to BBC Sport on Monday, English Football League chairman Rick Parry said: "PGMOL is dealing with it - they have suspended him - they've acted quickly and they will make sure they deal with it thoroughly and professionally."

Referees are required to inform PGMOL of the club they support.

Coote, from Nottinghamshire, is registered as a Notts County fan and is therefore unable to officiate County or Nottingham Forest matches.

What happened against Burnley?

With their first Premier League title secured, Liverpool's aims in July 2020 had switched to becoming the first club to win every single home game during the course of the season.

The Reds were on a 24-match winning run at Anfield, which had given them a 25-point lead over Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.

In addition, Klopp's side were hoping to become the second team to amass 100 points during a 38-game Premier League season, matching Manchester City's achievement in the 2017-18 campaign.

Andrew Robertson gave Liverpool the lead against the Clarets before Jay Rodriguez equalised to give the visitors a share of the spoils.

At full-time, Klopp appeared to argue with Coote and his officials on the pitch.

"The referee let lots of challenges go so it was clear that if the ball comes into the box it was dangerous. They [Burnley] did what they are good at and I respect that," said Klopp after the match.

"We were angry with the referee but we have to criticise ourselves first for not finishing the game."

Liverpool lost their next fixture against Arsenal, which ended their hopes of reaching 100 points.

Klopp was angry with Coote following Liverpool's 1-1 draw against Burnley in July 2020

What are Coote's refereeing stats?

According to appearance data from football website Transfermarkt, Coote has refereed 112 Premier League matches, including three Liverpool games.

He has refereed Liverpool a further five times in cup games.

Those three Liverpool League games as referee were:

• July 2020, the 1-1 draw with Burnley as referenced in the video

• March 2024, when Liverpool beat Brighton 2-1

• November 2024, Saturday's 2-0 win over Aston Villa

As one of PGMOL's most highly-rated VAR officials, Coote has been the VAR for 64 Premier League matches, 11 of which have involved Liverpool, the first of which was in September 2019.

In October 2020, Coote was the VAR when Liverpool drew 2-2 with Everton and Klopp complained about the decision not to send off Jordan Pickford for a challenge on Virgil van Dijk, as well as a stoppage-time goal from Jordan Henderson being disallowed for offside.

Liverpool asked the Premier League to review those two VAR decisions.

Coote was then not appointed as the VAR of a Liverpool Premier League match until September 2023, the first of seven Liverpool Premier League matches as VAR last season.