Twitter/X users claim that the person talking to David Coote in his viral video is cricketer Ben Kitt
David Coote is an English professional football referee who recently got suspended with a pending investigation, find out more about him and the suspension below.
In the announcement, the PGMOL and the FA both confirmed that they are currently investigating the viral video of Coote.
Who is cricketer Ben Kitt allegedly seen alongside referee David Coote in viral video where he calls Jugen Klopp a c*nt and Liverpool sh*t
Found him🤣🤣 #DavidCoote pic.twitter.com/SBnofJZJOi
— Ollie Hill (@OlHill1) November 11, 2024
As of now, Liverpool are still yet to release any sort of statement over the issue, but fans have been blasting Coote across social media.
While the PGMOL and David Coote are yet to comment on the identity of the person seen next to him in the viral video where he’s head calling Jurgen Klopp a c*nt, social media users have claimed to have identified Coote’s friend as cricketer Ben Kitt.
The video appears to have been filmed after a game in which Coote whose county FA is Nottinghamshire, had been acting as fourth official, with his friend, Ben Kitt asking: “What did you think of the Liverpool game earlier?”
Ben who was born on 18 January 1995 in Plymouth, Devon payed cricket for the Nottinghamshire Cricket Academy and earned his first professional contract ahead of the 2017 season.
The Cornishman claimed more than 100 wickets in 2016 in matches for the academy and the seconds and left Notts at the end of the 2018 season. Ben currently lives in Nottingham and works as an Independent Consultant at Sky Packing Material Trd, LLC according to his LinkedIn profile. His friend David Coote is a Notts County supporter and was born in Nottinghamshire.
Ben is yet to comment on the video though and confirm if its really him seen alongside David.
David Coote suspended
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) on Monday afternoon confirmed that they have suspended David Coote pending an investigation. The suspension comes following a video on social media showing him using highly offensive language against Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp. The PGMOL simply stated:
“David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect pending a full investigation. PGMOL will be making no further comment until that process is complete.”
This is Ben Kitt the guy in the David Coote video he’s a cricketer for Nottingham! #davidcoote #epl #ref #lfc #klopp pic.twitter.com/mfRfeJubGw
— David Jack (@J1985DAVE) November 11, 2024
In the video, someone asks Coote for his views on a Liverpool match where he just served as fourth official. Coote then describes them as “s***”, before going on to describe Klopp as a c***. When asked why he felt that way, Coote simply replied that the German had “a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown” and had previously accused him of lying. As of now, there are no exact details about when the video was made or how it came into circulation.
https://t.co/QNNkQgwi8o pic.twitter.com/yUEy5WoMwv
— Emily✨ (@_emilyoram) November 11, 2024
David Coote bio
David Coote is an English football referee who was born on July 11, 1982 in Nottinghamshire, UK. He is currently 42 years old and his county FA is the Nottinghamshire Football Association. Coote belongs to the Select Group of Referees in England and primarily officiates in Premier League matches. He is a well-known Notts County fan and started out refereeing as a 16-year-old in Nottinghamshire. His father, who also goes by the name David Coote, played professional cricket for Nottinghamshire.
Premier League Official Referee, David Coote calling Jurgen Klopp an “Arrogant German C**t”
byu/GeorgeCuz inLiverpoolFC
Referee career
David Coote started out his referee career working his way from the Notts Alliance League. He eventually made it to the National League before eventually joining the EFL in 2010. He finally got his first Premier League call up in April 2018, taking charge of West Brom’s win over Newcastle. Just a few months after that Coote got promoted to the Premier League’s Select Group 1. David Coote has since officiated primarily in the Premier League as well as in Champions league matches.
David Coote Liverpool contorversies
Throughout his time in the Premier league, Coote has had several controversies with Liverpool. Coote was the man official during Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Burnley back in July 2020. During the match, Andy Robertson and Klopp had an exchange of words with Coote after the match.
Just months later, Coote served as the video assistant referee when Jordan Pickford escaped a red card for an obvious challenge over Virgil van Dijk. The defender was left injured with an anterior cruciate ligament injury but Pickford escaped unbooked. Coote also served as the VAR during Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal last December where an incident involving Martin Odegaard took place.
During the match, Martin Odegaard seemingly touched the ball with his hand inside the area. However, Coote denied the Reds of a penalty, angering fans and players. Howard Webb, who is the current head of the PGMOL, admitted after the match that referee Chris Kavanagh and Coote were wrong in not awarding a penalty.
David Coote salary
While the exact details about David Coote’s salary are not available, referees in the Premier League get paid between £73,191 and £147,258. This is based on their experience and rank, and they also receive a match fee of £1,116 per game. Officials also receive £837 per game if they’re working as the video assistant referee for a selected match. As such, Coote will reportedly earn on the higher end of that range based on his years in the league.