David Coote hits out at sickening abuse directed at referees and reveals death threats
David Coote hits out at sickening abuse directed at referees and reveals death threats
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David Coote has opened up on the horrendous abuse which is levelled at referees, including death threats and people wishing harm on his own mother. Coote, 41, was sacked by the PGMOL last year after it was decided he had 'seriously breached' his contract by calling Liverpool "s***" and branding manager Jurgen Klopp a "German c***" in a leaked video.
His first interview following his dismissal comes at a time where Michael Oliver has been targeted with abuse by online trolls following a red card decision at the weekend. And Coote has condemned the vitriol that referees get on a weekly basis as unacceptable. He told The Sun: “I’ve received death threats during my career. I’ve needed an accelerated response tag on my home address for me to speak to the police in an emergency.
“I’ve also had messages from irate supporters hoping that I had an accident on the way home from a game. They didn’t just want me to die but to be paralysed, so I’d suffer every day for the rest of my life. Other messages included hoping that my mum dies of AIDS overnight.
“People target referees without accountability on social media, and at matches. I can’t see how that is acceptable. There is standard abuse on a regular basis, but some crosses any line of acceptability.”. Coote went on to detail how some people would deliberately hold back after games to berate him over decisions before sharing more insight into the vile trolling referees are forced to tolerate.
