Thank you for joining us for today's football news live. Things took a rather unexpected turn this afternoon, and we expect to hear more on this story about Premier League referee David Coote in the coming days. To stay up to date this evening, keep an eye on the BBC Sport website and our story here.

We will be back tomorrow with the latest updates, plus we look ahead to England returning to Uefa Nations League action later in the week.

See you then.

If you are just joining us, here are the key points from this developing story:

• Refereeing body PGMOL has suspended Premier League referee David Coote.
• It comes after a video emerged online appearing to show Coote making derogatory comments about Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp.
• Coote appears to refer to a game he officiated between Liverpool and Burnley in July 2020. Klopp confronted Coote on the pitch after the 1-1 draw, unhappy with some of his decisions.
• Coote, who appears to use a series of expletives to describe Liverpool and Klopp, has reportedly denied inappropriate conduct.

Image source, Getty Images

Dan Roan
BBC sports editor

Liverpool are aware of the video of David Coote allegedly using offensive language to describe the club and former manager Jurgen Klopp, but they are not commenting at this stage.

Formed in 2001 to improve refereeing standards, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) is the body responsible for refereeing games in English professional football.

Officials from the group officiate across all the Premier League, English Football League (EFL) and Football Association (FA) Competitions. All three organisations fund it:

• The training, development and mentoring of 162 referees and 350 assistant referees, is headed up by chief refereeing officer Howard Webb (a former PGMOL referee) and a team of managers and coaches.
• The most high-profile officials are the 20 full-time professional Select Group One referees.
• Currently, PGMOL have 84 in the Select Group who are contracted match officials. These are broken down between Select Group One Referees, Select Group One Assistant Referees, Select Group Two Referees and women's Select Group officials.

Officials for Premier League matches are generally chosen from Select Group One, the highest level of referees in English football.

In a second video that emerged on Monday, the alleged video of Coote shows him appearing to ask recipients of the first video not to share it anywhere.

"Just to be clear, that [expletive] last video can't go anywhere. Seriously," Coote allegedly said.

The other man in the video then says: "He's a Premier League referee, let's not [expletive] ruin his career. Let's face it, we're good blokes. But let's not ruin a bloke's career. We're not that bad. Also - he's a [expletive] legend."

This is a transcript of what David Coote appears to say in the viral video while speaking about then-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. It contains several instances of offensive language, which we have edited:

"Liverpool were [expletive]. [Expletive], absolute [expletive]. Aside from having a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley during lockdown, then he accused me of lying and then had a right [expletive] pop at me.

"I've got no interest in talking to someone who's just [expletive] arrogant. I do my best not to speak to him. Milner's alright.

"You can see me there with mask on, covid...social distancing. We're 10m apart. So yeah, my god. German [expletive], [expletive] me."

David Coote has denied inappropriate conduct following his suspension by PGMOL, report The Mirror., external

They say Coote has insisted to referee chiefs that the viral video is not genuine, and that PGMOL have tech experts examining it.

Image source, Getty Images

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter on Radio 5 Live

This is one of those occasions where you can almost see the people at PGMOL with their head in their hands.

For a body that prizes integrity among its officials above everything else, for this to come out, it just fuels what already is conspiracies around virtually any club.

And if proven, it's sure to bring action against David Coote and puts PGMOL in an exceptionally difficult situation.

Coote has been suspended pending a full investigation and PGMOL are saying they won't make any further comments, but you can imagine what [head of referees] Howard Webb might be muttering under his breath when he sees what has come out on the social media.

In a story in April 2016, the BBC Sport website looked at rules regarding the appointment of match referees.

Do referees have to say who they support?

Yes. And referees will not get appointed to the clubs they support.

"At the beginning of every season the referees' background information is audited," said Keith Hackett, the former head of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the organisation that makes refereeing appointments for Premier League games.

"They complete a form that includes who they support, the history of if they've played the game and with the addresses where they are residing.

"That gives you a picture that comes into use when you're appointing. It's about ensuring, for example, you wouldn't appoint a Sheffield-based ref for a Sheffield team."

Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey (pictured) added: "I was never able to referee Bolton because I lived there. If you lived in Leeds, you weren't going to referee Leeds United."

Image source, Getty Images

After the 1-1 draw with Burnley, Klopp criticised Coote but also admitted his side only had themselves to blame.

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

"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."

Liverpool won two of their final three games of the 2019-20 season to win the Premier League title with 99 points.

In the video, it appears that David Coote refers to Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Burnley in July 2020. According to Transfermarkt, it was the first time Coote took charge of a Liverpool match, and the result brought an end to Liverpool's 24-match winning run at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp and his side felt that Coote was too lenient and let too many Burnley challenges go. They were left frustrated when Coote didn't award a penalty after Andy Robertson went down in the box under a challenge from Johann Berg Gudmundsson.

At full-time Klopp entered the pitch to confront Coote and his officiating team.

Image source, Getty Images

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter

Plenty of fans have their conspiracy theories around certain officials and back them up with even the flimsiest of evidence.

What PGMOL as an organisation has to do is ensure they and their officials are beyond reproach in their actions, not just on the field but away from it.

It has previously been disclosed David Coote is a Notts County fan, so he never referees them or Nottingham Forest.

But PGMOL will want to get to the bottom of this situation as quickly as possible.

Coote, who is from Nottinghamshire, is registered as a Notts County fan with PGMOL.

He therefore does not get appointed to Notts County or Nottingham Forest games.

Image source, Getty Images

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 call for fouls on Liverpool's players.

BBC Sport has approached the PGMOL for further comment.

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

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.

Refereeing body PGMOL has suspended referee David Coote after a video on social media which appears to show him making derogatory comments about Liverpool and former manager Jurgen Klopp.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Sam: Hi Phil, you often say Arsenal need a 20-goal a season striker. Do you think Arsenal could solve their attacking problems by bringing in a more prolific left winger, or more creativity in other positions? Or do they need to be a striker?

Phil: Afternoon, Sam. I think Arsenal have lots of creation in the wide areas. We have seen it from Bukayo Saka this season and from Gabriel Martinelli when he scored at Chelsea yesterday.

I just think they need that recognised goalscorer, not only for the goals but to also give them an attacking focal point, a point of difference. Gabriel Jesus has not done enough and is injured too often and while Kai Havertz is a talented forward who scores goals, I still think they need that recognised marksman. It is a concern I have about Arsenal for the rest of the season.

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Nick, Wolverhampton: Hi Phil. Do you think Wolves' win over Southampton has given Gary O'Neil a stay of execution, or do you think he can turn it around? The three points were important, but the performance again was poor. With the quality of players we have, it's hard to argue against a better manager getting much more out of this squad.

Phil: Hi, Nick. Time will tell on the long-term but there is no doubt that was a huge result for Gary O’Neil and Wolves. It was all about the win on Saturday, the substance not the style.

It is clear the club want to stick by him and admire him but a loss to Southampton at home would have ratcheted up the pressure, which is why it was portrayed in many quarters as a “must win” game.

In mitigation, O’Neil did lose some important players such as Max Kilman and Pedro Neto in the summer, as well as having a tough opening spell of fixtures. The club clearly showed its faith with a new four-year contract in the summer.

This vital win against Southampton now has to be the platform for improvement for Wolves and O’Neil because they are still in a precarious position.

Image source, Getty Images

Harry, Manchester: Good afternoon, Phil! How do you feel about players dropping out of the England squad through “injury” but then suddenly being fully fit to play as soon as club football returns. Was this happening 5/10/15 years ago?

Phil: Hello, Harry. Players dropping out of England squads has been happening for as long as I can remember and there has always been a lot of noise around whether injuries were genuine or not, usually from fans of rival clubs who feel others are putting club allegiances ahead of the national side’s interests.

I certainly believe most of the injuries have been genuine and this weekend I don’t think there can be any question these players were injured.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was forced off after 25 minutes of Liverpool’s win against Aston Villa with a hamstring injury, while there is no way Arsenal duo Declan Rice or Bukayo Saka would have departed the game against Chelsea prematurely unless there was absolutely no way they could continue. Rice was already playing with a broken toe while Arsenal are waiting to discover the extent of Saka’s injury.

Jack Grealish’s situation will be interesting. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola clearly does not believe he is fit enough to be with England after missing club games through injury, but Lee Carsley selected him and he has joined up.

We watch that one closely.

Image source, Getty Images

Gav, sunny Portugal: Quick one for Mr McNulty. Has Forest's bubble burst? They were totally outclassed in every department by Newcastle on Sunday.

Phil: Hi Gav. No.

One defeat to a good side playing well, even at home, does not mean a bubble has burst. Nottingham Forest have had the sort of start to the season that has probably wildly exceeded even their own expectations. There will be reality checks along the road but no way will I be jumping to the sort of knee-jerk conclusions suggesting a bubble has burst after one loss like yesterday’s.

I envy you in sunny Portugal though!