Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has revealed he harbours some empathy for suspended official David Coote having been axed by the PGMOL himself in 2008. Clattenburg was dismissed due to an issue over business interests, but later successfully appealed.
The PGMOL have announced that Coote has been suspended over a video allegedly showing him ranting about Jurgen Klopp. In the clip, which seems to have been filmed a few years ago, he repeatedly calls the former Liverpool boss a “c***”.
Clattenburg believes Coote was “naive” to record the video. However, the 49-year-old insists he has some empathy.
“I feel for Coote in a way, because I know what it is like to be suspended by the PGMOL,” Clattenburg wrote in the Daily Mail.
Related articles
“That loneliness, to have so much scrutiny on you, your mental health in decline, worried that if you leave your home there will be somebody there waiting, paparazzi wanting a picture of you looking dishevelled or something.
“I experienced all of that in 2008, for something that had nothing to do with football. It was related to business interests I had at the time which they claimed breached my contract. They even sacked me.”
The alleged video makes clear Coote’s disdain for Klopp. But Clattenburg has revealed just how difficult the German could be to referee. He says he did not like the aggression shown by the 57-year-old.
“You can have your own personal view on Jurgen Klopp, of course you can. Now that I’m retired, I can say I wasn’t a fan of his aggressive approach,” Clattenburg said.
“He was overly antagonistic towards officials trying to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. But it goes without saying that Coote took it a step too far.”
Peter Walton, another former Premier League official who worked with Coote, was left stunned by the video. He regarded Coote as “captain sensible” and believes the clip shows the 42-year-old “trying to be someone he is not”.
Walton wrote in The Times: "I would have described him as captain sensible, maybe a bit highly strung at times, and not one of the lads.
“Unlike some referees, you rarely see him laughing and joking with players during matches — he is generally very straight-laced. I look at the video and wonder if part of the problem is that he is trying to be someone he is not.”
