The referee David Cote von Unsprnade was banned in a UEFA game until the end of June 2026 after he had forced cocaine during the euro 2024.
Cote was released in December by the referee body of the Premier League, after the publication of a video in which he used derogatory language to describe Liverpool and her former boss Jürgen Klopp.
A second video then showed that COOTE snorted a white powder through a banknote that he later admitted was the medication.
The law should have taken place in a UEFA hotel one day after the quarter-finals between France and Portugal.
A UEFA disciplinary publication has confirmed its sanction today.
It was said that he had “violated the basic rules for decent behavior” and “brought football and especially the UEFA into disrepair” and banned him for 16 months.
Coote accuses stress of hiding sexuality
Cote later said that his actions were caused by the stress to hide his homosexuality.
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
He told the sun, the newspaper that had previously exposed him: “He said:“ My sexuality is not the only reason that prompted 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 recognize that (his remarks) you dismantled the standards that are expected by a referee at the highest level, and I deeply regret what I said. The comments do not reflect my views of one of the persons concerned or my more comprehensive views. “
Cote received the support of the former colleague
Mark 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 last month: “If he comes out and takes full responsibility for his actions, he does not make any 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 reaction COOTE 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. “
