New Delhi: Former Premier League referee David Coote has confessed that he hid his sexuality during his career out of fear of the mistreatment he would receive for being gay. The 42-year-old felt that the pressure of his work was one of the main reasons for his behaviour which ultimately led to his termination by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in December.
Back in November 11th, 2024, Coote was suspended by PGMOL following a video that circulated on social media where the referee was allegedly abusing Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. Media outlet The Sun released photos two days later that showed Coote snorting white powder during Euro 2024, which led to UEFA opening an investigation and in December, Coote was sacked with immediate effect. Initially, Coote had denied that those were his photographs but later admitted to his poor conduct.
Speaking to The Sun, who had led the reporting of his misconduct, Coote said, “I am gay and I have struggled with feeling proud of being ‘me’ over a long period of time.” The English referee who had officiated in more than 100 top-tier games, noted that throughout his career, he had been at the receiving end of many abuses and adding his sexuality would have made his situation more difficult.
Coote, in a separate statement also apologised for his actions that ultimately led to his sacking, noting that it was a “difficult” phase of life and took full responsibility for his conduct and felt that his behaviour was way below what was expected of him. Cotte said, “I am truly sorry for any offence caused by my action.” his behaviour had a negative impact on a game that he so adored.
🚨🗣️ David Coote: “The first thing I want to do is apologise to anyone I’ve offended… I deeply regret what I said.” (@TheSunFootball) pic.twitter.com/lUnIHIvpqp
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) January 27, 2025
In his apology, Coote insisted that the videos were “private moments” from a bad phase in his life and didn’t show him in the correct light. In his interview with The Sun Coote admitted he was ashamed about his sexuality as a teenager and told his parents at 21 and friends at 25. Coote still felt that his sexuality wasn’t the only aspect of his life that led to his conduct in the videos.
Coote felt that he had struggled to hide his sexuality and while hiding his emotions as a referee may have benefited him, it had only caused trouble as a human being. While police investigate threats directed towards referee Michael Oliver after Arsenal’s match against Wolves, Coote noted that he had been threatened all his life.
David Coote talks about his drug addiction
In his interview, Coote also told the Sun that since the photographs were released, he was in a “dark place” and thanked his family and colleagues for keeping him together. Coote is also under investigation for allegedly having discussed giving a yellow card before a Championship game in 2019 between Leeds and West Brom. This allegation he has always denied.
Talking about the incidents that led to his termination Coote said his mother passed away in 2023 and his uncle was also diagnosed with motor neurone disease around the same time. Along with these events, he officiated more than 90 games across the world which was then followed by the European Championship and the Olympics. He confessed that the work pressure was immense.
Coote stated that the strain of work was too high in both the “physical and psychological” aspects of his job. Coote said he couldn’t recognise his state in the video and confessed that the drugs were an escape for him during the non-stop football schedule.
Coote has since checked himself with a therapist and is now over his drug habit. He said to the Sun that he was doing everything to be a better version of himself both physically and mentally. He concluded that anyone who was struggling with addiction needs to seek help.
In a new interview, former referee David Coote has spoken about fear of abuse due to his sexuality and his struggle with drug abuse due to a long football calendar. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
