Howard Webb comments on David Coote investigation. (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images for Premier League)
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited chief Howard Webb made his first public appearance on Tuesday night since the organisation were forced to suspend David Coote for the referee’s comments about Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp.
In a bid to bring transparency to the sport, Webb has regularly appeared in public on the show Match Officials: Mic’d Up to address key decisions referees have made in recent Premier League matches.
The PGMOL chief was involved in the latest episode on Tuesday night and it could not have come at a worse time for the 53-year-old following the events of Monday.
Footage surfaced on social media on Monday afternoon showing the 42-year-old making disparaging remarks about Liverpool and their former manager Jürgen Klopp, just days after the referee was the man in the middle for the Reds’ 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Anfield.
The video showed Coote stating that Liverpool played “s**t” in a game that he was at and that Klopp is a “c**t” after a recent incident with the German coach – a case the Merseyside club have chosen to stay silent on for now.
The Premier League official has since been suspended by the PGMOL while an investigation is carried out and the English referee could now face more even punishment from the FA.
Howard Webb avoids details of David Coote investigation
Speaking about the incident on Match Officials: Mic’d Up, Webb stated that a “full investigation” is ongoing related to the Coote video and it is a case the PGMOL are taking “very seriously”.
“We became aware of a video that’s been circulated on social media that we are taking very seriously. We’ve instigated a full investigation,” the PGMOL chief said via the Liverpool Echo.
“One of our referees David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect, pending the outcome of that investigation. And there’s not much more I can say at this stage until we work through that investigation.”
It remains unclear when the findings of this investigation will be released, however, it is likely to be before the Premier League gets back underway on November 23.
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