David Coote suspended by PGMOL: What does this mean for Scottish referees?
By Aaron Masterson
David Cootes taking the whistle in a Premier League match (Premier League)
Referee David Coote has been suspended by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) after a video surfaced showing him insulting Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp.
The video includes Coote using profanity to describe Klopp as “arrogant”, as well as “a German c***”. He also referred to the city of Liverpool as “s***”. A newer video also surfaced which displays the English referee snorting a white powder through American currency. These incidents have raised concerns about the referee’s conduct and the protocols for establishing referees’ club allegiances.
Supporters and clubs will have lost confidence in decisions made by Coote, especially as he has been in charge of multiple Liverpool fixtures. Coote has overseen a total of eight Liverpool games across all three English competitions, with Liverpool being on the losing side twice.
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In a statement responding to questions about protocols regarding allegiance and bias, Howard Webb, Chief Refereeing Officer at PGMOL, said: “When referees put in allegiance forms, they're asked to declare any specific interests in advance of the season.”
Another huge concern for referees is the number who declare support for lower-league clubs.
An example of this is Anthony Taylor’s allegiance to Altrincham, which some people feel is a way to get around the rules. Although Taylor is Manchester-born, he has been allowed to take charge of both United and City games because of his allegiance to the National League side. The referee has had major complaints against him, most recently from the red side of Manchester after their first game against Liverpool this season.
This reinforces the possibility that the PGMOL allegiance checks are not enough. However, these checks are more than most countries provide.
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For example, in Scotland, questions are always raised regarding the clubs that referees support. These claims are most often made in games that include Rangers or Celtic.
This could be resolved by the SFA following the PGMOL’s model of allegiance forms, however, these forms would likely need to be made public to make referees safer and avoid attacks. An example of this is John Beaton receiving death threats during an Old Firm game in 2018. Beaton refused to give a penalty for a challenge on Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths in the final moments which might have won Celtic the game.
Overall, Coote’s actions have created a chain reaction which will likely put immense pressure on referee associations all over the UK to work harder to ensure the credibility of their referees.