Mike Dean has revealed that he made contact with David Coote following the viral video which emerged on Monday featuring the latter launching an X-rated tirade against Jurgen Klopp.
The 42-year-old has been suspended by the PGMOL pending an investigation into the matter, and he could also face an aggravated misconduct charge from the FA due to him mentioning the ex-Liverpool manager’s nationality as part of the inflammatory remarks about him.
Dean weighs in on viral video featuring Coote
Speaking to Sky Sports on Tuesday, former top-flight official Dean said that he spoke to the Nottinghamshire official about the footage, adding that everyone in the profession will be ‘devastated’ by the incident.
He said of Coote: “As a referee you can’t put yourself in that position. Away from the camera you can talk amongst your friends and colleagues but you can’t let someone video this and hope it’s never going to come out.
“Dave is one of the quieter referees of the group to be fair. I text him yesterday – he’s still a colleague in a way – just to see how he was. He replied to me with a message I wouldn’t disclose to anybody. He’ll be devastated today. I think most of the referees will be devastated that someone has actually gone and done this video.”
Dean added: “It’s damaging for everybody involved. When I saw it yesterday I couldn’t believe it. You’d to look it two or three times before you realise who it is and what’s going on and what’s been said. It’ll devastate referees from grassroots all the way to the Football League. It’s so out of character for David to do that.”
Dean seemed just as shocked as the rest of us
It’s evident from Dean’s comments just how disappointed he is about the video featuring Coote, and he appears to have been just as shocked as the wider world about the defamatory nature of the remarks about Klopp.
The 42-year-old might now be feeling a strong sense of remorse over what he’s believed to have said about the ex-Liverpool manager, and the consequences for his career could be severe, especially if he’s found guilty of aggravated misconduct.
We can only hope that he learns from this unsavoury episode and that current and future referees will also heed important lessons on how to conduct themselves away from the football field as well as on matchdays.
