Former referee Peter Walton is surprised David Coote has landed himself in hot water, describing the official as “Captain Sensible”.
Coote was last night suspended by referring body the PGMOL after a video emerged in which he appeared to outline his dislike for Liverpool as well as calling ex-Reds boss Jurgen Klopp a “German ****”.
The Mirror claim Coote initially denied any involvement in the video before later admitting it was him, although he is reported to have said he cannot remember the contents of the conversation.
Coote was not one of the lads – Walton
Walton, who took charge of games in the Premier League between 2003 and 2012 and now works as a refereeing analyst, was stunned to hear Coote had got himself embroiled in the scandal.
He told The Times: “There are some Premier League referees I consider more loose-lipped, and more laddish in their behaviour away from the public spotlight. David is not one of them.
“I would have described him as captain sensible, maybe a bit highly-strung at times, and not one of the lads.
“Unlike some referees, you rarely see him laughing and joking with players during matches — he is generally very straight-laced. I look at the video and wonder if part of the problem is that he is trying to be someone he is not.”
Penalty controversy
The comments relating to Liverpool, allegedly from Coote, appear to refer to a game in 2020 when Klopp’s side drew 1-1 against Burnley having been denied what they felt was a penalty.
Coote also came under fire from Klopp when he was on VAR duty during last season’s game between Liverpool and Arsenal. Gunners captain Martin Odegaard appeared to handle the ball inside the area but Coote failed to call the incident back for on-field referee Chris Kavanagh to check. Referee chief Howard Webb later admitted that was an error and Liverpool should have been awarded a spot-kick.
On Klopp, who left Anfield at the end of last season, Walton added: “He looks to be one of the more difficult touchline personalities of recent times to manage.
“But those are the ones above all that require the referee to remain calm. The language used in the video — assuming all is as it seems — is clearly offensive.”