David Coote has opened a Pandora’s box that won’t be easy to contain after his anti-Liverpool video was released, with a display of bias he can’t come back from.

The quiet buzz at the start of another international week was shattered when Coote’s video quickly went viral on social media, calling Liverpool ‘shit’ and Jurgen Klopp a “c***”.

Within hours, he was suspended and a thorough investigation was launched, leading to a wave of reactions from both sides of the fence.

Quickly dismissed as deepfake or artificial intelligence, these were Coote’s unfiltered thoughts, filmed by someone who clearly didn’t have his best interests in mind.

As a Liverpool fan, this wouldn’t have shocked you. It will likely have been validation for the times we crossed paths and his bias was questioned.

It may have been unclear or some might have pointed to the fact that he was simply not competent to officiate matches at the highest level, but he now has nowhere to hide and no defense.

He is not the first person, and he will not be the last, to throw such unpleasant words at someone he meets at work during his free time. But it’s not just anyone.

This is an official at the highest level who can have a direct influence on matches, and he has demonstrated significant bias. against Liverpool, and the tinge of xenophobia is unforgivable.

The video appears to have been filmed in 2020, and since then he has overseen 16 matches involving the Reds as a referee or as lead VAR.

During this period, we had the Virgil van Dijk incident at Goodison Park, Martin Odegaard’s blatant neglected handball and the stunning decision not to show a red card for an infringement on Mo Salah just last week.

Two of those matches ended in a draw, with the Reds not receiving a red card or a penalty – two decisions which played a role in the final result.

These were important calls at the time, but in light of Coote’s comments, it puts everything he touched under the microscope, even if some decisions were made in Liverpool’s favor.

It’s contaminated.

When we dug a little deeperwe found that during matches Klopp has been supervising since 2018 – when Coote was first appointed as Premier League referee – Liverpool won 52.9 percent with Coote and 65.5 percent without him. This represents a drop in win rate of 12.6 percent.

Dislike Klopp all you want, Coote won’t be the only one who feels the way he does as the Liverpool boss hasn’t always been in good spirits, but he apparently was – so far from least – the only one stupid enough to be. filmed expressing these feelings.

Prejudice – unconscious or conscious – is commonplace in society. This is a human condition, but there is no way you can have a subjective view if you harbor such thoughts that you are willing to express them to God knows who.

Coote has been unprofessional in keeping his personal feelings out of his work, and who’s to say he’s alone?

Few would complain if the 42-year-old has refereed his last match as he can no longer supervise Liverpool, nor work on matches involving Liverpool. Man City Or ArsenalFor example.

But the title or any other ranking isn’t just decided here, it’s over the course of a 38-game campaign that has little margin for error and its admitted bias surely leaves the PGMOL with no other choice.

With this video, Coote has broken down the fundamental principles that referees align themselves with and constantly seek to oppose, namely allegations of bias and conflict of interest.

We are constantly told that there are no hidden agendas, and any attempt to question decisions is met with silence as the boys’ club closes ranks and protects its own.

It’s not an easy task, I’ve experienced it, albeit in a different sport, but if we can’t trust referees to do their job objectively, what are we left with ?

The starting point for PGMOL is clear, but can we be sure it will succeed?