Axed Premier League referee David Coote comes out as gay and admits he took cocaine 'escape route' due to 'real struggles' with sexuality and relentless work schedule

The 42-year-old was axed as a top-flight match official in December 2024, having initially been suspended following the release of a video in which he branded ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp a “c***”. Footage later emerged of him taking Class A drugs at Euro 2024.

Coote has now revealed that living a lie in his private life led to poor decisions being made that impacted his profession. He has told The Sun of finally revealing his sexuality: “I felt a deep sense of shame during my teenage years in particular. 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.”

Coote went on to say of his struggles in the “macho world” of football: “I’ve had issues around my self-esteem — and that relates to my sexuality. I’m gay and I’ve struggled with feeling proud of being ‘me’ over a long period of time. I have received deeply unpleasant abuse during my career as a ref and to add my sexuality to that would have been really difficult.

“There’s a lot to be done throughout football and more widely in society with regard to discrimination. I didn’t want to be that person that was putting their head above the parapet to be shot at, given the abuse we all get as a referee in any event.”

Coote admits that he was “not sober” during his Klopp rant and said of his drug use: “It’s not something I was reliant on day by day, week by week, month by month. I’ve had long periods where I’ve not used it — but it was one of the escape routes I had. Just getting away from the stresses, the relentlessness of the job. It fills me with a huge sense of shame to say that I took that route.”

Coote says that, after seeking therapy, he has kicked his drug habit. He is now – having been a referee since the age of 14 - looking to “spend some quality time with family and friends, and take time to make sure I’m in the best place to move forwards”.