IT IS a crisis that Howard Webb needed like a hole in the head.
Ample evidence that some of his referees DO harbour grudges against certain teams.
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The sort of nasty video that will only ramp up the conspiracists even further.
And while David Coote appears to have sealed his own fate with words he spoke more than four years ago, it is Webb who has to deal with the repercussions now.
Putting out a fire that nobody should have started — and just as refs’ chief Webb and PGMOL appeared to be getting things back in the right direction.
That Webb acted as swiftly as possible cannot be doubted.
Barely two hours had lapsed after Coote’s bizarre comments about Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp and even James Milner had emerged before PGMOL announced the referee’s suspension “with immediate effect”.
The outcome of the investigation is inevitable, especially with Coote conceding it really is him captured burning his reputation and career in front of a camera.
Yet the issue for Webb is that it will bring back up the sort of accusations which, until last season, had been consigned to the wilder fringes of pub corners and social media.
Nottingham Forest’s decision to “out” VAR Stuart Attwell as a Luton fan after controversial calls went against them in a relegation crunch with Everton cost the City Ground club £750,000.
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That was the FA sending out a message: Our refs are honest and straight. They have integrity. And you will be punished if you try to stoke up your fanbase.
It was a message that had appeared to be sinking in, at least with the clubs.
What was noticeable from Arsenal earlier this season — despite complaints over red cards for Declan Rice, Leandro Trossard and William Saliba — was a seeming determination NOT to play the blame game.
Some fans might want to think the entire fabric of the game is designed to undermine their chances, that refs are biased in favour of one team or another.
But fans have always done that.
It is just that the team who were protected and helped out changed from decade to decade, depending on who was top of the pile.
Plenty of Liverpool and Arsenal fans, in particular, have convinced themselves Michael Oliver — universally rated by the FA, Uefa and Fifa as one of the top refs in the world — is Manchester City’s 12th man.
But PGMOL boss Webb believes the first three months of the season have seen Prem refs’ reputations turning a corner.
Mistakes are down, with fans seeing more accurate and quicker decisions.
And that is even before the delayed introduction of semi- automated offside tech — due after Christmas if everything goes well — to speed up flag calls even further.
But Webb will know the few seconds of stupidity that will see Coote becoming part of football history will only bring fresh focus on his recruitment policies and the integrity of top-flight whistlers.
And not just from the loons and oddballs that refuse to ever believe the evidence of their own eyes.
Webb was already expected to be discussing at least one of Coote’s decisions in tonight’s instalment of the Match Officials Mic’d Up monthly review show.
Coote actually made the correct call when Manchester United’s Matthijs de Ligt slightly caught West Ham’s Danny Ings inside his own box in added time at the London Stadium last month, before accepting Oliver’s recommendation to award a penalty instead.
That finished off Erik ten Hag’s United reign, with Webb conceding it was an error.
The former World Cup final ref might also have been ready to look at the decisions made by Coote at Anfield, of all places, on Saturday night.
Half a pitch behind the action, he appeared to wave play on — rather than applying the advantage rule — when Leon Bailey wiped out Mo Salah.
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The Jamaican avoided punishment by the VAR because Darwin Nunez went on to make it 1-0, therefore Bailey could not have denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
But due process means Webb cannot say anything about the suspended ref at this stage, even though ignoring the Coote-sized elephant in the room will be a difficult sell.
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.”
