Premier League official David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect by PGMOL.
A video, which remains unverified, appearing to show Coote making derogatory comments about Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp was widely circulated on social media on Monday.
A PGMOL statement read: “David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect pending a full investigation.
“PGMOL will be making no further comment until that process is complete.”
Coote was the referee for Liverpool’s win over Aston Villa at Anfield on Saturday night.
Liverpool have declined to comment.
Head of referees Howard Webb will be appearing on Match Officials: Mic’d Up on Tuesday night on Sky Sports Premier League at 7pm.
What happened when Coote refereed Liverpool vs Burnley?
The video being shared appears to refer to the Premier League match between Liverpool – who were already crowned champions – and Burnley, which Coote refereed, in July 2020.
The game finished 1-1 after Jay Rodriguez’s strike cancelled out Andy Robertson’s opener, ending Liverpool’s 24-match winning run at Anfield.
At full-time, Klopp appeared to argue with Coote and his officials on the pitch, and after the match, the former Reds boss said the referee failed to give fouls for challenges made on Liverpool’s players.
‘A very serious allegation’
Sky Sports News senior reporter Rob Dorsett:
“David Coote appears to be speaking directly to a camera phone and appears to go on to make a number of derogatory comments about Liverpool Football Club and their former manager Jurgen Klopp.
“We don’t know if this video is genuine or not at this stage, and neither do PGMOL.
“We need to point out that there is no indication at all as to how old this video is, but it is clearly not recent. In the video, Coote talks about lockdown and being socially distant. He shows the guy interviewing him a picture on his phone where he is wearing a mask. He talks about Klopp and James Milner, who hasn’t played for Liverpool for more than 18 months.
“Coote is an elite Premier League referee. He is part of the elite group of match officials, where he has been since 2018. He had eight years as an EFL referee before that. He is one of the most experienced and highly-thought-of referees in this country, and with that position comes an awful lot of responsibility, in terms of impartiality in particular.
“So any suggestion that Coote or any other elite match official might have bias against a particular Premier League club, or bad feeling towards them or their manager, is a very serious allegation.
“But while I think we need to stress there is history between Klopp and Coote, the latter hasn’t had the chance to explain himself, either to us or indeed the PGMOL, who are his employers.
“This has moved very quickly. It’s a huge story and potentially one that is very damaging, not just for Coote but the PGMOL as well.”