Disgraced former Premier League referee David Coote says he hid his sexuality over fears of the abuse he would receive for being gay, apologising for the actions that led to his sacking.

Coote, 42, was suspended in November after footage emerged of him making derogatory remarks about former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp in a video that was widely shared on social media.

Further photographs shared by the Sun newspaper in November, which the newspaper said were taken during Euro 2024, appeared to show Coote sniffing a white powder through a rolled-up bank note.

He was dismissed by referees body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) last month.

In an interview with the Sun published on Tuesday, Coote revealed he is gay.

“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.

He added: “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.”

Coote said he and his late mother had received death threats following decisions he had made on the pitch and cited his own example to show how relentless abuse from the stands and on social media could impact the mental health of officials.

Coote told the Sun he had used cocaine as an “escape route”.

“I’ve had long periods where I’ve not used it - but it was one of the escape routes I had,” he said.

“Just getting away from the stresses, the relentlessness of the job. It fills me with a huge sense of shame to say that I took that route.”

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/01/former-premier-league-referee-coote-hid-sexuality-over-abuse-fears/