David Coote, the disgraced Premier League referee, has said struggles with his sexuality contributed to the “really poor choices” that cost him his job last year. The 42-year-old was dismissed by the referees’ body, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), after appearing in a number of videos that were leaked online. In one, Coote insulted the former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp. In another he snorted a white powder.
In his first interview since the scandal, he did not challenge many of the allegations but added personal context. “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,” Coote told the Sun newspaper.
“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 said he also feared to come out because of the abuse he would receive in football as a result. “I have received deeply unpleasant abuse during my career as a ref and to add my sexuality to that would have been really difficult,” he said.
