Premier League match official David Coote was suspended by the PGMOL after a leaked video of the referee surfaced on X. In the video he proceeded to call Liverpool FC “shit” and refer to former manager Jurgen Klopp as “a German cunt”.

X user @Josh97LFC posted the video that gained 58 million views. We had the opportunity to talk with him.

Where did this video come from?

“I’ve been following Liverpool home and away for 11 years. During that time I’ve made many close friends and joined many group chats. It was mid-day on the 11th November and the video was forwarded into a what’s app chat I have with my close friends that I travel to European away games with. We were shocked but also in hysterical laughter, the group chat has never been so active.”

What did you think of the video and the subsequent videos that followed?

“Well it’s racism, making the remark specific to Germans, and his mate Ben Kitt saying ‘we hate scousers’ David Cootes not exactly objecting. He’s meant to be impartial! It’s a disgrace how much hate he can show towards a manager and a team when he’s meant to have no public opinions, subconsciously these opinions would’ve influenced him. He knows what he was doing was wrong and regrets it instantly, ‘this video can’t go anywhere’, to say it anyway jeopardising his job shows his incompetence and lack of professionalism. I didn’t expect all the subsequent stuff after to come out and at times I did feel bad for him. He’s a man who’s clearly struggling, if doing white powder whilst officiating at the euros doesn’t show this, than I don’t know what does.”

What motivated you to post the video on X ?

“I thought it was laughable, a Premier League referee making these remarks, it had to go onto social media. All Liverpool fans agree that David Coote has made some questionable decisions against us and for opposition teams when fighting for the title. He was the referee last season for the Martin Odegaard handball, he was playing basketball. I know we didn’t lose the league by 2 points but everything could have played out different if we won that game.”

What do you think David Coote should do now?

“It’s hard, this is the biggest refereeing scandal that’s come out in the Premier League era. All fans have opinions that certain referees are bias and there’s always whispers of referees supporting Premier League teams. But there’s never been any proof of a referee seriously hating a club or manager. I can’t see David Coote ever refereeing in the Premier League or even Europe ever again, it’s a reputable disaster for him and the PGMOL. Saudi Arabia might be the only place left for him, if they can look past the white powder.”

How do you think this will effect the PGMOL and that standard of refereeing ?

“They’re already under careful watch due to previous errors made, Luis Diaz’s offside goal against Spurs for example. I believe there will be a overhaul of foreign referees and officials like seen in UEFA competitions very soon. In comparison the standard of referring is night and day and it needs to change. The Premier League is the best league in the world, with the worst officiating.”

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