Sacked Premier League referee David Coote charged by FA over ‘German c***’ Jurgen Klopp comments

17 June 2025, 21:33 | Updated: 18 June 2025, 00:03

Former Premier League referee David Coote has been charged by the Football Association over remarks he made about ex-Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp.

However, the FA won’t be pressing charges of gambling misconduct against him related to claims that he agreed to give a player a yellow card before the match, which the former referee called ‘false and defamatory’.

Coote was sacked last December by Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) after a video circulated on social media the previous month of him making derogatory comments about Klopp in July 2020.

One of those remarks referenced Klopp's nationality, seemingly calling him a 'German c**t', and the FA said that constituted an alleged 'aggravated breach' under its rules.

The FA said Coote would face no further action related to the gambling allegations, and that those claims had been fully investigated.

The PGMOL first suspended Coote on November 11 after the clip went viral on social media.

A further investigation began after a video shared by the Sun newspaper appeared to show Coote sniffing a white powder through a rolled up US bank note during the 2024 European Championships.

A statement read: "Following the conclusion of a thorough investigation into David Coote’s conduct, his employment with PGMOL has been terminated today with immediate effect.

"David Coote’s actions were found to be in serious breach of the provisions of his employment contract, with his position deemed untenable.

"Supporting David Coote continues to be important to us and we remain committed to his welfare.

"David Coote has a right to appeal the decision to terminate his employment."

He previously described the allegations as "false and defamatory".

David Coote was apparently filmed calling the former Liverpool manager an "absolute c***" when Coote was refereeing a match involving his side.

He said that Klopp, who left Liverpool in the summer after nearly a decade at Anfield, "had a right f****** pop" at him after the game.

Coote, 42, also took aim at Liverpool itself, calling the club "s***".

He said: "Aside from having a right pop at me when I was reffing against Burnley in lockdown, he accused me of lying and then just had a right f****** pop at me.

“I’ve got no interest in speaking to somebody as f****** arrogant. I do my best not to speak to him… my god, German c***. F*** me.”

Later, a video emerged showing Coote appearing to sniff white powder.