Who would want to be a referee? Just ask David Coote… | OneFootball

A thankless task in many respects, being a referee.

At grass roots level especially, referees face ridiculous amounts of verbal abuse.

Whether it’s spectators, players or coaches, I have seen it first hand when my son was playing and it’s awful.

We keep hearing that standards in the English game have seemingly eroded in recent years. The introduction of VAR has shed further light on officiating and it hasn’t been good. As recently as 2020, Keith Hackett, former general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL), said that Premier League referees were not good enough and the VAR system is not fit for purpose.

In all fairness, it’s a wonder anyone makes their way to the top of this much-maligned profession. Spend time at grassroots football matches and you realise how difficult it is. A drunkard has marked the touchlines, an XL Bully the centre spot and the assembled players have the stench of last night’s beer and kebab on their breath.

This perhaps goes some way to explaining why we have so many oddballs taking charge of Premier League matches, mainly a strange bunch who amongst other things suffer from illusory superiority – they believe they’re never wrong.

But does this make them biased, or even corrupt?

All teams suffer from bad decisions and it evens out at the end of the season. Right?

The David Coote video incident and what he has allegedly said, puts our moaning about referees into sharp focus.

At one level, if he’s asked his opinion of Jurgen Klopp, or anybody else, during a private conversation, why shouldn’t he say what he thinks?

After all, most of us will meet people in our working life who we dislike, but are still expected to interact with them and in so doing, will either consciously or subconsciously treat them differently to other people we get on with.

I suppose this misses the point somewhat though.

David Coote is in a position that carries huge responsibility.

His judgement and decision-making have been shown to be significantly flawed, if the contents of the video are proven to be what they appear to show.

With claims that then this means impartiality has been discarded and any of his decisions directly involving Liverpool Football Club represent a can of worms that has been well and truly opened.

David Coote appears to have fanned the flames for all manner of conspiracy theories involving top-flight referees and his actions could have far-reaching consequences.

Trust in officials, whether politicians or top-flight referees, is a commodity that is in short supply and has been on the wane for a while.

This incident has exposed a truth that many of us perhaps didn’t want to confront, can a Premier League referee really be totally impartial?

Next time Newcastle United are on the receiving end, the question will surely be asked in a more enquiring and robust manner.

Why would we give any of them the benefit of the doubt again?