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Coote's lapses likely to fuel more disrespect for referees
The Straits Times
|November 17, 2024
On The Ball
The David Coote affair has shed dreadful light on English football's referees.
A series of drip-fed stories leaking into British tabloids have landed severe blows on the embattled Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the Premier League referees' body.
As Coote's misadventures piled up, the chances of him ever officiating a Premier League match became zero.
Having been caught on phone camera criticising former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, using the basest swear word, he was already on thin ice.
When videos of him snorting white powder before allegations of him organising illicit parties appeared, Coote's image descended to that of someone with serious issues of judgment and, it is alleged, substance abuse.
How much the PGMOL, headed by Howard Webb, the 2010 World Cup final referee, knew about Coote's extracurricular activities requires answers. And, are any of his colleagues acting in a similar fashion?
This story is from the November 17, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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