The former referee of Premier League, Mark Halsey, claims that David Cootes sexuality is an open secret of his colleagues and says the 42-year-old deserves a second chance.
COOTE was released in December by the Professional Game Match Officizen Limited (PGMOL) after a video appeared in which he was used after a derogatory language towards Liverpool and the former manager of the Club Jürgen Klopp.
After a second clip, he was still examining UEFA when he snorted cocaine while working at the European Championship of last summer.
The exclusive referee David Coote opens his sexuality
Take a look at the full interview here: https://t.co/zrryinsxz pic.twitter.com/oxajjfzc9x
– The sun (@thesun) January 28, 2025
Cote admits too bad decisions
Coote apologized last night to the sun, in which he admitted that he struggled with gay fights, meant that he was not “in a great place” and had led to some “really bad decisions”.
He said, “My sexuality is not the only reason that caused me to be in this position. But I don’t tell an authentic story when I don’t say that I am gay and that I had real problems to hide it.
“I hid my feelings as a young referee and also my sexuality – good quality as a referee, but a terrible quality as a person. And that led me to a whole course of behavior. “
In the video in which he called Klopp AC ***, he said: “I realize that (his remarks) you stayed far away from the standards that are expected by a referee at the highest level, and I deeply regret it, That I said what I said. The comments do not reflect my views of one of the persons concerned or my more comprehensive views. “
Cote was also accused of discussing the potential with a friend that Leeds Ezgjan Alioski showed a yellow card in 2019 before a game against West Brom.
However, he insisted: “There was no agreement before the game. I went and did my job. The player celebrated a Yellow Card Tackle. I didn’t get anything for it.
“I am really disappointed that something like that came out because it affects the integrity of the game. And whatever people consider me as a referee, as a person, I always went out and did my best on the field.
“I was not in a great place and reported people who shouldn’t have trusted afterwards. I was naive. (I) made some really bad decisions and I really wished I could now turn the watch back and do things differently. “
He takes on responsibility – Halsey
Halsey, who retired from the referee in 2013 after a 14-year career of the Premier League, said that the honesty of Cote should be recognized.
He said BBC Radio 5 live: “If he comes out and takes full responsibility for his actions, he does not make excuses, he takes full responsibility.
“He is a person, we all make mistakes in life. Everyone makes mistakes in life and earn a second chance and nobody should go through what David goes through. I really feel, really for him. When the referees come together, we said all things about players or managers. “
Cote received threats online and Halsey said that he could sympathize after he had suffered from trolls during his career.
“He made some mistakes and didn’t deserve the threats of murder,” he added. “I’ve had death threats against my family, my wife, who fought leukemia. They wanted to be dead when the cancer came back. Some of the things they wanted to do to my young daughter was just terrible. “
“We all knew about David’s sexuality”
When asked how the COOTE reaction would have come out as a gay while he was still crooked, Halsey said: “It would have been very difficult. It shouldn’t be that way. We all knew (colleagues) about David’s sexuality. That didn’t bother us. He was a person, he was a nice person, so what about his sexuality? So? It is about sharing love and understanding people and what they go through.
“Society stinks today and it is good that David has made his friends and family show him the love and camaraderie he needs to get him through. I hope that the PGMOL helps him. “
