Ex-Premier League referee David Coote comes out as gay
Referee David Coote awards a penalty to West Ham United during their English Premier League match against Manchester United at the London Stadium in Britain on October 27, 2024
The 42-year-old Coote, who officiated more than 100 top-flight games, said a fear of coming out as gay led him to turn to drugs and added that he "was not sober" at the time of the video.
"I want to apologise to anybody who I've offended by my actions... you can tell by the video I wasn't sober," Coote told The Sun in an interview released on Monday.
Former Premier League referee David Coote has apologised for the actions that led to his sacking last month by English football's referees' body PGMOL, saying that the pressure of the job and fear of abuse due to his sexuality triggered his behaviour.
Coote was fired after being suspended in November following a video circulating on social media showing the official allegedly abusing Liverpool and their ex-manager Juergen Klopp.
