Danny Murphy says David Coote “can’t” be allowed to do one thing after viral video controversy
Danny Murphy has claimed that David Coote’s career as a Premier League referee is ‘finished’ after his involvement in a controversial video which has emerged online.
On Monday, footage was leaked showing the top-flight official repeatedly calling ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp a ‘c**t’, and the 42-year-old has since acknowledged that the clip is genuine.
He’s been suspended by the PGMOL pending an investigation into the matter, and it’s now been claimed that he may have allowed ‘human nature’ to influence his thinking when he was involved in Reds matches.
Murphy claims Coote is ‘finished’ in the Premier League
Speaking about Coote on talkSPORT in light of the viral video, Murphy said: “He’s done. He’s finished. He can’t ref here. Obviously [the video] is awful but when we break it down, whether you’re a fan, player, manager, referee, [we’re] all human beings and human nature kicks in.
“I used to despise some refs more than others, and players, and managers. You might share it when the teammates about someone you might be coming up against or being reffed by, or an opposing manager, whoever it was.
“You’d have people you don’t like, so subconsciously at times you change and do things differently because of the people you do and don’t like. It’s a bit like when refs know a reputation of a player for diving, so the card’s nearly already out even though he’s been fouled, that type of scenario.
“At worst, all we can probably surmise is that maybe he’s going into games in his head going, ‘I don’t like Klopp, he’s arrogant. I don’t like Liverpool so therefore I won’t give them [decisions]’. Human nature kicks in and he won’t be his normal quality refereeing self. Let’s make that the worst case.”
Coote should never be allowed near a Liverpool game again
It’s natural that referees might also be football fans at heart – for example, Mike Dean is a well-known Tranmere Rovers supporter – but given the importance of objectivity in their profession, they simply can’t let any bias or predisposition for or against a team or individual affect their thinkng.
If it’s true that Coote allowed his now-public dislike of Klopp to influence his decision-making on Liverpool matches when the German was managing the Reds, it’s a damning indictment of an official who’s supposed to be among the best in the country if he’s working in the Premier League.
At the very least, the 42-year-old can never again be assigned to any fixture directly or indirectly affecting LFC after this regrettable episode, and we agree with Murphy that he could well be banished from top-flight refereeing permanently.
Howard Webb and the PGMOL have a responsibility to now ensure that each of their representatives working on a specific match has zero bias for or against any stakeholders involved (clubs, players, managers) so that we never have a repeat of what has happened with Coote.
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