David Coote's refereeing record in Liverpool matches

The 1990 FA Cup final referee Alan Gunn once said “we are stage managers, not performers”.

The Premier League referee David Coote finds himself centre-stage under a blistering spotlight after a video surfaced which appeared to show the top-flight official launching a foul-mouthed tirade against Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp.

Coote has been provisionally suspended. While the PGMOL investigates the authenticity of the social media post, here’s a closer look at every Liverpool game the under-fire official has overseen.

Coote had overseen 26 Premier League matches before he was given his first posting at Anfield. Falling exactly on his 38th birthday, the fresh-faced official was in the middle for Liverpool’s 1-1 draw at home to Burnley in the behind-closed doors days of July 2020.

Mohamed Salah took more shots than the visitors in a frustrating stalemate which denied Liverpool the chance of surpassing Manchester City‘s record tally of wins. After a typically combative display from Burnley, Klopp fumed: “We were angry with the referee but we have to criticise ourselves first for not finishing the game.”

Almost four years elapsed before Coote was entrusted with another Liverpool match in the Premier League. During the 2021/22 campaign, the referee oversaw two regulation cup victories for the Reds against lower league opposition.

Coote could hardly be blamed for Liverpool’s League Cup exit against Manchester City in the aftermath of the 2022 World Cup and may have even been overly generous when Klopp’s side were dumped out of the FA Cup by Brighton later that same season. Fabinho was only shown a yellow card for crunching into a horror challenge on Evan Ferguson at the end of contest which also saw Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson fortunately escape red cards.

Brighton again felt aggrieved in another defeat to Liverpool last season after Coote allowed Luis Diaz’s equaliser despite several players being stood in an offside position. Arne Slot had few complaints with the official after his side’s impressive 2-0 victory over Aston Villa just last Saturday.

The most contentious Liverpool match involving Coote came during his time in the VAR booth. Coote was the distant official watching on from Stockley Park when Liverpool were held to a hotly controversial 2-2 draw with Everton at Goodison Park in October 2020.

That was the match which saw Virgil van Dijk sustain his long-term ACL injury after a collision with Jordan Pickford. The Dutch centre-back was offside in the buildup, but it was never established whether Coote checked for a potential red card. Sadio Mane was also flagged by the VAR, prompting Jordan Henderson’s late winner to be chalked off.

Klopp was not impressed with the officiating and Liverpool asked the Premier League to review both VAR decisions. When reflecting on his disallowed goal, Henderson claimed: “I think they bend the lines sometimes to make it offside. I’m not sure how they do it, I’ve seen it before.” It was almost three years before Coote got in the VAR booth for another Liverpool game.

Overall, Liverpool have a middling record with Coote. The Reds have won more often than not and the few defeats that they have suffered have hardly been solely down to the referee’s interventions.

Coote has never shown a Liverpool player a red card or awarded a penalty against the Merseyside giants across eight matches as an on-pitch referee.

Manchester United – and Erik ten Hag in particular – would argue that they have suffered more at the whistle of Coote. It was the Nottinghamshire-born official who awarded the stoppage-time penalty which Jarrod Bowen converted to defeat the Red Devils in a 2-1 win last month. Reports have subsequently emerged that PGMOL chief Howard Webb disagreed with the spot-kick, but that didn’t stop Ten Hag from getting sacked.

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