Former Premier League referee David Coote has come out as gay and turned to using cocaine to deal with hiding his sexuality and being in a “dark place”.
Coote was embroiled in a after the emergence of a video in which he made derogatory remarks about Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp. Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said that a thorough investigation had concluded he was “in serious breach of the provisions of his employment contract, with his position deemed untenable”.
Following the incident, The Sun shared a video of Coote snorting a white powder at Euro 2024. Now, in an exclusive interview with the newspaper, Coote has revealed he took coke to “escape”. He also admitted he was not sober during his rant at Klopp.
“I felt a deep sense of shame during my teenage years in particular.” Coote recalled. ““I didn’t come out to my parents until I was 21. I didn’t come out to my friends until I was 25.”
Coote added that his sexuality is not the only reason that “led me to be in that position”, but that his story would not be “authentic” if he didn’t publicly reveal it.
“I hid my emotions as a young ref and I hid my sexuality as well — a good quality as a referee but a terrible quality as a human being,” he said. “And that’s led me to a whole course of behaviours.”
Coote now hopes his revelation will help break down the “macho world” of football at the elite level in England. Not a single current Premier League footballer has come out as gay.
Amal Fashanu, who runs The Justin Fashanu Foundation named after her uncle, said Coote's revelation is "very brave".
Justin Fashanu was the first top flight footballer in the UK to come out as gay. He took his own life in 1998.
Amal said there is "still something very wrong at the top of football".
“I’m not sure I’d be here today,” Coote said, referring to how vital the support of his family has been.
He added: “I’ve had issues around my self-esteem — and that relates to my sexuality. I’m gay and I’ve struggled with feeling proud of being ‘me’ over a long period of time.”
Coote said that “deeply unpleasant abuse” he received during his career meant he felt he could not reveal his sexuality. He said there is a “lot more to be done” within football and in wider society to tackle discrimination”
Of his cocaine use, Coote said he was not reliant on it every day and that he had long periods where he did not take the drug, but that he found it to be an "escape route" during difficult moments.
One of those moments was when he lost his mum "very suddenly" in 2023. His uncle was diagbosed with motor neurone disease around the same time.
All of this was going one while Coote was selected to referee at multiple tournaments. He estimates he did around 90 games in the 2023-24 season.
The clip Coote calls the "cocaine video" was when he was "struggling". He added: "I don’t recognise myself."
The video which triggered PGMOL’s investigation into Coote’s conduct first came to public attention on November 11.
In it, Coote is asked for his views on a Liverpool match where he has just been fourth official, and describes them as “s***”.
He then describes Klopp as a “c***”, and, asked why he felt that way, Coote says the German had “a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown” and had accused him of lying.
“I have got no interest in speaking to someone who’s f****** arrogant, so I do my best not to speak to him,” Coote said.
Later in the video, Coote again refers to Klopp, this time as a “German c***”.
Now, Coote faces further controversy. The FA is investigating allegations Coote discussed showing a yellow card with a fan before a match.
The card was shown to Leeds player Ezgjan Alioski during a match with West Brom in 2019. Coote later messaged his mate: "I hope you backed as discussed."
Coote has now said: "There was no agreement prior to the game. I went and did my job. The player committed a yellow card tackle.”
He added: “I received nothing for it. I’m really disappointed that anything like this has come out because it tarnishes the integrity of the game. And whatever people think of me as a referee, as a human I have always gone out and done my best on the pitch.”
Coote also said he was in a bad place and was "messaging people that in hindsight I should not have trusted".
The former ref has kicked his drug habit after seeking therapy. He now wishes he could turn back time and have acted in a different way.
Since he left the sport - Coote has refereed since he was 14 - he has spent "quality time" with family and friends.
Comments
Leave a Comment