Suspended Premier League referee David Coote is being investigated by the FA after being accused of discussing awarding a yellow card before a match in 2019.
Coote told a friend ‘I hope you backed as discussed’ after cautioning Leeds’ Ezgjan Alioski in a 2019 Championship tie, according to messages reported by The Sun.
The 42-year-old denies any suggestion of corruption, but the FA and refereeing body PGMOL are conducting urgent enquires into the messages.
This comes after Coote was initially suspended after two videos in which he called former Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp a “c–t”, before another clip appeared to show him snorting white powder in a hotel room during Euro 2024.
These new text messages reportedly show Coote telling a friend he is officiating “Leeds tomorrow”, before the reply says: “Ooh big game. We still on for what we discussed [Alioski]. Maybe I could join you if so.”
Coote: “Haha don’t know what you mean.”
His friend: “Haha well I’m off to back it in the morning so don’t let me down.”
Coote: “Haha will see.”
Alioski was then shown a yellow card in the 18th minute for a foul on Darnell Furlong – which appeared to be a completely fair booking.
The following day, Coote texted his friend again, reportedly saying: “What a day yesterday. I hope you backed as discussed.”
The friend then said he did not bet on it but he believed another of their friends did.
In a statement on Tuesday Coote said: “Whatever issues I may have had in my personal life they have never affected my decision-making on the field.
“I have always held the integrity of the game in the highest regard, refereeing matches impartially and to the best of my ability.”
And a PGMOL statement said: “The facts need to be established in light of these very serious allegations. We adopt a zero-tolerance approach to any breach of our Integrity Code of Conduct, which is signed by all match officials on an annual basis.
“PGMOL Board is committed to taking the appropriate action should any breach of that code be proven. David Coote remains suspended and subject to an ongoing disciplinary process by PGMOL, separate to the investigation into this matter, which will be carried out independently by the FA.”
The FA added: “These are very serious allegations and we are investigating as a matter of urgency.”
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/mOle9tA
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