Former Premier League referee David Coote has been suspended until the end of June 2026 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). In recent months, the 42-year-old Englishman has been at the center of a number of disputes.
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), which oversees English football officiating, fired Coote in early December. On November 11, a provisional ban was declared in response to the emergence of older films that revealed him making disparaging remarks about Jürgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool at the time, in a private environment.
Images of Coote reportedly snorting a white drug during the most recent Euro tournament were made public, and UEFA opened its own inquiry just three days after these films appeared. According to the UEFA statement, Coote had “violated fundamental rules of decency and discredited football in general and UEFA in particular.”
The Football Association (FA) has also launched a fresh probe into corruption. Reports state that shortly before officiating Leeds vs. West Bromwich in October 2019, Coote was overheard talking with a fan about the prospect of giving Leeds player Ezgjan Alioski a yellow card.
