Disgraced former referee David Coote comes out as gay and says he took cocaine to deal with 'pressure-cooker' job
27 January 2025, 23:40
David Coote, the former Premier League referee who was fired for videos that appeared to show him taking drugs and mocking the Liverpool manager, has come out as gay.
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Coote said that he had not revealed his sexuality before because he was afraid of being abused.
The former referee was initially suspended last October after footage emerged of him mocking ex-Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp in a video that was widely shared on social media.
In an interview with The Sun, Coote said: "My sexuality isn't the only reason that led me to be in that position. But I'm not telling an authentic story if I don't say that I'm gay, and that I've had real struggles with hiding that.
"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.
"And that's led me to a whole course of behaviours."
He said that after the stories broke, he fell into "an incredibly dark place", adding that without the support of loved ones: "I’m not sure I’d be here today”.
Coote said that his mental health issues had gone back a long way.
He said: “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.
“I have received deeply unpleasant abuse during my career as a ref and to add my sexuality to that would have been really difficult.
“There’s a lot to be done throughout football and more widely in society with regard to discrimination.
“I didn’t want to be that person that was putting their head above the parapet to be shot at, given the abuse we all get as a referee in any event.”
Coote was sacked in December after an investigation into his conduct following the emergence of a video expressing his disdain towards Klopp.
A further investigation began after a video shared by the Sun appeared to show Coote sniffing a white powder through a rolled up US bank note during the 2024 European Championships.
He admitted that he sometimes used cocaine to cope with the stress of his high-profile job, but insisted that he was not reliant on the drug "day by day, week by week, month by month".
Coote said that he has since kicked the habit.
The former referee is still under investigation after being accused of discussing the prospect of booking then Leeds player Ezgjan Alioski with a supporter of the West Yorkshire club the day before a game in October 2019.
Coote did book Alioski and messaged his friend to say: "I hope you backed as discussed".
But he denied that he had done anything wrong, adding: "There was no agreement prior to the game. I went and did my job. The player committed a yellow card tackle.”
Coote went on: “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.”
