THE man who filmed David Coote’s anti-Liverpool rant has been named and reportedly suspended from his job.
Footage emerged on Monday of Premier League referee Coote making derogatory comments about Jurgen Klopp and his former side.
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Coote, 42, has been suspended by the PGMOL pending an investigation.
Now the person responsible for filming the video, named as Ben Kitt, has also been suspended from his job, report The Telegraph.
The former Nottinghamshire cricketer is being investigated by his employers, executive recruitment firm Forsyth Barnes, whose clients include Manchester United and Real Madrid.
Kitt is heard saying in the clip: “Long story short: Jurgen Klopp’s a c***, Liverpool are all f***ing b***ends and we hate Scousers.”
Forsyth Barnes co-founder Roheel Ahmad said in a statement to the Telegraph: “Forsyth Barnes understands that the leaked video of David Coote includes one of its employees, Ben Kitt.
“This is something that we are taking very seriously and we have suspended Ben on full pay while we investigate further.
“Although we are still in the process of gathering all the facts, we do know for certain that the video was taken some years before Ben became an employee of Forsyth Barnes.
“In his time with the business, Ben has demonstrated a strong [work] ethic and dedication to his career. He has matured considerably and grown into a responsible young man.
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Shocking David Coote video in full
First video
First man: “What did you think of the Liverpool game earlier when you were fourth official?”
Second man (allegedly Coote): “Erm Liverpool were s***.”
First man: “What did you think of Jurgen Klopp?”
Second man (allegedly Coote): “C***, absolute c***.”
First man: “Why would you say that Jurgen Klopp is a c***?”
Second man (allegedly Coote): “Erm, aside from having a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown.
“Then, he accused me of lying and then just had a right f***ing pop at me – and I’ve got no interest in speaking to somebody whose f***ing arrogant.
“So I do my best not to speak to him. [James] Milner is alright, I get on with Milner.”
First man: “James Milner, he gets on with James Milner.”
Second man (allegedly Coote): “You can see me there with mask on.”
First man: “Mask on, obviously.”
Second man (allegedly Coote): “Yea Covid, got to be done. Social distancing right? We’re two meters apart.”
First man: “We have to social distance.”
Second man (allegedly Coote): “Yep, so but [exhales] my God. German c***, f*** me.”
First man: “Long story short, Jurgen Klopp’s a c***, Liverpool are all f***ing b******s, we hate Scousers.”
Second video
Second man (allegedly Coote): “Right just to be clear, that f***ing last video cant go anywhere, seriously.”
First man: He’s a Premier League referee, let’s not f***ing ruin his career.
“Like let’s face we’re good blokes but we can’t ruin a bloke’s career. We’re not that bad. Also he’s a f***ing legend.”
Second man (allegedly Coote): “So, yeah.”
First man: “So lets not ruin his career.”
“To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, Forsyth Barnes will not be making any further comments.”
A spokesman for the firm said Kitt did not wish to comment on the video, while Coote is also yet to respond.
In the clip, Coote can be seen branding the Merseyside club “s**t” and calling Klopp a “c***” while in conversation with Kitt.
Referencing a match between Liverpool and Burnley in 2020, Coote added: “Aside from having a right pop at me when I was refereeing them against Burnley in lockdown, he (Klopp) accused me of lying and then had a right f***ing pop of me.
“I have no interest in speaking to someone who is f***ing arrogant.”
He later said in a separate video: “Just to be clear, that f***ing last video cannot go anywhere, seriously.”
Coote has since admitted the video is of him but “cannot recall” making it.
The ref has been excluded from Uefa’s match list for the upcoming Nations League fixtures this week.
