Referees are never far from the centre of controversy, although the headline-making officials usually hit the back pages for failing to give a penalty or wrongly awarding a corner kick, rather than allegedly calling a manager a "c***".
On Monday afternoon, a video purportedly showing David Coote making derogatory remarks about Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp was leaked onto social media, where a man alleged to be the 42-year-old labels the ex-Reds boss a "German c***".
Seemingly filmed during a COVID-19 lockdown a few years ago, Coote appears to reflect on an occasion in July 2020, when Klopp squared up to him in the aftermath of a home draw with Burnley.
The person purported to be the referee had just finished fourth official duties in a Liverpool away game, believed to be their 7-2 loss to Aston Villa, and he tells his associate that he has no time for "f****** arrogant" Klopp.
A second video then shows Coote apparently insisting that the footage cannot be seen by any other eyes than their own, but within just a few hours, the video had been viewed over 18 million times on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Coote involved in four previous high-profile Liverpool controversies
© Imago
Coote was quickly suspended by the PGMOL, and The Mirror's Darren Lewis claims that the referee has accepted that the footage is genuine, although he apparently cannot remember the content of the discussion with his associate.
Of course, furious Liverpool fans have been quick to draw their own conclusions, and Reds supporters have had a few bones to pick with Coote on the field, including one high-profile incident as recently as Saturday.
Coote refereed Liverpool's 2-0 Premier League win over Aston Villa, in which goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah either side of the break sent Arne Slot's side five points clear of the Premier League table.
Nunez struck first after Salah had seemingly been the victim of a last-man foul by Leon Bailey, which would have warranted a red card for the Villa man, but Coote surprisingly waved away the protests.
The 42-year-old - who is registered as a Notts County supporter - was also involved in a controversial incident at Anfield last December, where Arsenal and Liverpool played out a 1-1 draw.
Four key decisions given against #LFC by David Coote
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) November 11, 2024
Van Dijk's season-ending injury - no red card for Pickford - Coote VAR
Mane given offside to win the derby - Coote VAR
Ødegaard handball at Anfield - not given - Coote VAR
Salah fouled by Bailey - no foul - Coote referee pic.twitter.com/qltt9QN5et
In that affair, Martin Odegaard handled the ball inside the Arsenal box, but on-field referee Chris Kavanagh did not intervene, and Coote also felt that the incident did not warrant a penalty kick.
A few years before that - around about the time that the alleged video would have been filmed - Liverpool and Everton played out a 2-2 Merseyside derby draw in October 2020, the game in which Virgil van Dijk suffered his devastating ACL injury.
Coote was also in the VAR room for that match at Goodison Park, where Jordan Pickford was not punished for the wild challenge on Van Dijk that prematurely ended the Dutchman's season.
Later on in that game, Liverpool thought that they had nabbed all three points through Jordan Henderson, only for Coote to determine that Sadio Mane was offside in the build-up, an extremely tight call not visible to the naked eye.
Liverpool are said to be aware of the alleged video and subsequent developments, but they are not commenting on the matter while the PGMOL concludes its investigation.
Ben Knapton
