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REF'S REGRET
Tearful David Coote apologises for calling Jurgen Klopp ‘a German c**t’ insisting he ‘wasn’t sober’ during rant
The referee tearfully admits he 'wasn’t sober' but knew the video was being taken in 2020 during Covid
DAVID Coote has made a tearful apology to ex-Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp and “anybody who I’ve offended by my actions”.
The now-axed referee made headlines worldwide when footage emerged of him calling Klopp a “German c***”.
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Emotional Coote admits that he “was not sober” at the time but knew he was being recorded during Covid in 2020 when social distancing meant large gatherings were forbidden.
The official has also declared in video chats that Liverpool “will not win the Premier League” this season.
And he branded the Reds’ defender and Scotland captain Andy Robertson a “Scottish p****.”
Coote said: “I want to apologise to anybody who I've offended by my actions.
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“I recognise that they fell well short of standards that are expected of a top level referee and I deeply regret saying what I said.”
He went on: “That video has been with somebody for more than four years.
“I’d forgotten it existed and I was sitting waiting for my car to be serviced and then received a call to say that it had surfaced on social media and I was devastated.”
Remorseful Coote added: “I deeply regret that I found myself in that position. The comments are not reflective of my views of any of the individuals concerned or my wider views in general.”
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Reflecting on his row with Klopp — who criticised him after he had refereed a 1-1 draw between Liverpool and Burnley in July 2020 — Coote said: “The football industry is really tough for everybody who’s involved.
“And everybody — when the pressure is on and results don't go in the direction that they’d like — finds themselves in survival mode to a large extent.
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"Referees are an easy target because there’s no accountability [on the abuse]. Refs are used as scapegoats. I get that, and I don’t blame anybody for that.”
The experienced match official added: “The difficulty with refereeing is that we have no way of expressing our emotion in the moment.
“We have to hide our emotions. I’d be a pretty terrible referee if I reacted emotionally to what’s being said or what’s being chanted around the ground. We don’t have the emotional release of scoring a goal or winning the game.
“I’m a human being who made a mistake in a moment that I now deeply regret.”
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'IT'S A VERY BRAVE MOVE'
By Amal Fashanu, niece of Justin who runs foundation in his name
“IT is very brave for anyone to come out, but more so for someone in the public eye.
“This will affect David Coote and is a big step but it should have less of an effect that in would on a player. It’s not the same level of fame.”
Amal, whose former Norwich striker uncle killed himself in 1998 after becoming the first top-flight player to come out, added: “We’d love to chat to him at the foundation.
“We’d be there to offer any support and counselling.
“We also help people with mental health problems and would be there for him if that was an issue.
“There’s still something very wrong at the top of football.
“We’re in 2025, when everyone is supposedly liberal and accepting, yet something is stopping these men accepting who they are. Football is still failing in this regard.”
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