Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca becomes first Premier League manager to speak out on David Coote… after referee was suspended for calling former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp a ‘German ****’ in leaked video

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has become the first Premier League manager to speak out on the David Coote scandal 

Coote is not on the fixture list this weekend as he was suspended after an old video emerged of him calling Jurgen Klopp a ‘German ****’ and Liverpool ‘s***’.

And ahead of his return to former club Leicester on Saturday, Maresca denounced the 42-year-old.  

‘I have seen it. These kind of things, not any reaction – whether it is a player, a manager, a referee, a normal human being not involved in football – the reaction is not the best one because there are things that are not correct to say,’ the Chelsea boss said. 

‘It doesn’t matter that he is a referee. If I, as a manager, say the same it is wrong. If you, as a journalist, say the same it is something wrong.

‘So no matter that he is a referee. Any human being that says these kind of things it is not good.’

Another video came to light of a man alleged to be Coote snorting white powder during Euro 2024, while he was accused of trying to set up a ‘drugs party’ in a Travelodge after Man City‘s defeat by Tottenham in the Carabao Cup last month.  

A PGMOL spokesperson said: ‘We are following an internal process and taking the allegations into David Coote’s conduct very seriously as part of our ongoing full and thorough investigation. Whilst David remains suspended, his welfare continues to be important to us and he is aware of the support network available to him.’ 

Coote was stood down from Premier League duties and also from international and European competition by UEFA while investigations are ongoing.

‘The UEFA Referees Committee immediately suspended David Coote until further notice on November 11 when it became aware of his inappropriate behaviour,’ a spokesperson said. 

In the first clip, the Nottinghamshire official claimed Klopp was ‘arrogant’. ‘Aside from having a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown, then he (Klopp) accused me of lying and had a right f****** pop at me,’ said Coote. 

‘I’ve got no interest in speaking to someone who’s f****** arrogant. I do my best not to speak to him. ‘My God, German c***, f*** me.’

He also added: ‘Liverpool were s***. (Klopp is a) ****, absolute ****. 

‘(James) Milner is all right, I get on with him. You can see me there with a “mask” on.’

In a second video, the man added: ‘Just to be clear, that f***ing last video cannot go anywhere, seriously.’

The game the man alleged to be Coote is referring to in the video was Liverpool’s controversial 1-1 draw with Burnley back in 2020. 

In the match, which saw Liverpool drop points for the first time at home that season, Andy Robertson was caught on camera angrily confronting Coote in an expletive-laden rant after not being awarded a penalty.

‘How’s that not a penalty is a disgrace,’ the Scotsman fumed after the game. ‘How the f*** is that not a penalty? You didn’t see f***ing anything. 

‘You didn’t see anything the whole game apart from f***ing booking them in the last minute. F*** me. What’s the point in having you in the middle? What’s the point in having you? F*** me. Honestly.’

Coote has been a Premier League referee since 2018 and had plenty of run-ins with Klopp, who left Anfield at the end of last campaign.

Midway through last season during Arsenal‘s clash with Liverpool in December, Klopp vented his fury at Coote and the rest of the match officials after his side were denied a penalty despite Martin Odegaard appearing to handle the ball inside the 18-yard box.

Chris Kavanagh, who was the match referee, waved play on and the game was not stopped for a VAR check by the officials, with Coote confident that the Norwegian only handled the ball in the act of falling, which isn’t deemed punishable by the Premier League’s rules. 

‘Yes I have seen it,’ Klopp fumed after the game. ‘I am pretty sure someone will come to explain it to me why it was not a handball but I don’t know how? I don’t say that the ref can see it because I don’t know where he was in that moment.’

Referring to Coote’s role in the incident, he added: ‘But how can a guy in an office see that and not come to the conclusion that maybe, possibly it could be worth the referee having another look?’

Howard Webb, head of PGMOL, subsequently admitted that Kavanagh and Coote made a mistake by not awarding Liverpool a penalty during the 1-1 draw.

Things went from bad to worse for Coote last Wednesday when an eight-second clip was released by The Sun which allegedly showed him using a rolled-up bank note to inhale a white powder in a hotel room at last summer’s European Championship.

That video is said to have been recorded on July 6, the day after the Euro 2024 quarter-final between Portugal and France, in which Coote was a support VAR official and Michael Oliver was the referee.

It is also reported to have been filmed in a UEFA-funded hotel room. He has been stood down from officiating European matches by UEFA.

Finally, The Sun released messages, supposedly from an acquaintance of Coote, which claimed the 42-year-old tried to set up a ‘drugs party’ in a Travelodge when he ‘he should have been concentrating’ on City’s match at Spurs on October 30.

Coote allegedly booked a hotel room at 7.38pm and sent a booking notification to somebody else at 8.04pm – just 11 minutes ahead of kick-off.

The latest damning allegations claim that Coote messaged a friend saying ‘hope you’re getting ready (to meet)’ – during the half-time break of City’s 2-1 loss to Spurs.

A source told The Sun: ‘On the day of the game he was messaging me repeatedly and wanting a drugs party after he’d finished at Spurs (where he was the fourth official).

‘He didn’t book the Travelodge until just before kick-off, then sent a notification 11 minutes from the game starting. It was crazy.

‘Moments before and afterwards he sent me messages. When he messaged me at half-time I thought it was so surreal.

‘Surely he should have been concentrating on the game, not arranging drugs parties.’

The source claims they eventually pulled out of the meet-up with Coote and that the official ‘went mad’ – even requesting £73.99 in compensation for the booking fee.

Another source told the outlet that Coote had called Liverpool left-back Robertson a ‘Scottish p****’.

‘He did say that the worst place to referee was Goodison Park due to the young Scousers screaming, shouting, swearing at him and calling every name under the sun before the games had even started,’ the source said.