Sacked referee David Coote reveals struggles with his sexuality led to ‘really poor choices’ 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.
“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.
“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.
Coote said he also feared to come out because of the abuse he would receive in football as a result.
I’m gay and I’ve struggled with feeling proud of being ‘me’ over a long period of time,” Coote told the Sun newspaper.
