David Coote, the referee that was fired by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) after a series of controversies including a leaked video of him insulting Liverpool's former manager Jürgen Klopp, has spoken publicly for the first time since the affair blew up in November last year.
Coote, who was one of the most respected Premier League officials, was dismissed in December and the referee entered in "one the most difficult periods of my life", even saying that he is not sure if "I'd be here today" without the support of his family and colleagues.
Coote has opened up in an interview with The Sun, the same tabloid that published some photos of him snorting a white powder during the UEFA Euro Cup last summer, where he worked as a referee. In the interview, and in a statement sent to media like Sky Sports, Coote apologises "for any offence caused by my actions and for the negative spotlight it put on the game that I love", and saying that he "received deeply unpleasant abuse during his career" while also revealing that he is gay, so he hid it until now. "To add my sexuality to that would have been really difficult."
"I didn't come out to my parents until I was 21. I didn't come out to my friends until I was 25. My sexuality isn't the only reason that led me to be in that position. But I'm not telling an authentic story if I don't say that I'm gay, and that I've had real struggles dealing with hiding that".
"I hid my emotions as a young ref and I hid my sexuality as well - a good quality as a referee but a terrible quality as a human being. And that's led me to a whole course of behaviours."
About the video where he was seen saying "Liverpool were shit" and Klopp being "a f*cking c*nt", he admits he wasn't sober. He also admits that he was indeed snorting cocaine: "I was struggling with the schedule and there was no opportunity to stop. And so I found myself in that position, escape". He however denies allegations that he discussed giving a yellow card before a Championship (England's second division) game in 2019.
Finally, he urges other people in his situation to "seek help and talk to somebody because if you bottle it up like I have done, it has to come out in some way."