The now sacked referee has come out to reveal why he hid the fact that he was gay, one month after getting sacked for his disgraceful behaviour.
Disgraced Premier League referee David Coote has come out to reveal that he is gay, saying he hid his sexuality for fear of facing abuse.
Coote was sacked in December by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), having initially been suspended in November, after a video surfaced on social media of him making derogatory remarks about Liverpool and former manager Jurgen Klopp.
A few days later, photos surfaced online of him sniffing white powder through a rolled-up US bank note, leading to his sacking, while the Football Association and the UEFA are investigating him.
Coote has now come up to apologise for his behaviour and says he acted that way due to the pressures of his job, while revealing how he has had to hide the fact that he is gay.
A Premier League referee has invited trouble after letting rip at Liverpool and former manager Jurgen Klopp, describing the 57-year-old as a ‘German c**t’
“I have received deeply unpleasant abuse during my career as a ref and to add my sexuality to that would have been really difficult,” he said during an interview with the Sun, revealing that he told his parents about his sexuality when he was 21 and his friends when he turned 25.
“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 dealing 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 added.
The former referee says he received death threats and abuse, some directed to his late mother, further fueling his unbecoming behaviour.
Coote officiated more than 100 Premier League games as well as the European Championships and the Olympics and says the demands of the job took its toll on him.
“The physical and psychological demands on match officials is really significant,” he added.
“I don’t recognise myself in the cocaine video. I can’t resonate with how I felt then, but that was me. I was struggling with the schedule and there was no opportunity to stop. And so, I found myself in that position – escaping.”
