PGMOL fires Premier League referee Coote

The English soccer referees’ organization, PGMOL, fired Premier League referee David Coote on Monday after discovering that his acts were a major violation of his contract.

Coote was suspended last month after a video purportedly depicting the official mistreating Liverpool and former manager Juergen Klopp went viral on social media. Following a thorough investigation, the official’s position was found to be untenable.

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

Following Coote’s original punishment on November 11, the Football Association also opened an investigation, and two days later, PGMOL declared that they were taking new accusations extremely seriously.

UEFA also opened an investigation after suspending the 42-year-old Coote after the Sun published a video purporting to show him snorting white powder while serving as a match referee at Euro 2024.

The FA announced on November 27 that they were looking into claims that Coote had talked to a friend about booking a player the day before a game, a claim that the referee refuted.

The PGMOL statement also stated, “We are still committed to David Coote’s welfare and support him continues to be important to us.”

Coote is entitled to appeal the ruling.