Premier League referee David Coote slammed Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool in an astonishing leaked video after a night out at a casino, it has emerged.
Coote was suspended by refereeing chiefs PGMOL after branding the former Reds manager a “German c***” and his side “sh*t” in an astonishing tirade. Now the man who filmed the clip and ranted “Liverpool are all f***ing b***ends and we hate f***ing Scousers” has been identified as Coote’s “former friend” and ex-Nottinghamshire cricketer Ben Kitt.
According to the Daily Mail, he too has been suspended from his job – at an executive recruitment firm – in the wake of the scandal that has rocked football. Coote, 42, from Nottinghamshire, who has a history of giving controversial decisions against Liverpool, reportedly accepts it is a genuine recording, but is said to have claimed he doesn’t recall the contents of the entire conversation.
Kitt once held a two-year contract at Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, but his career fizzled out due to injuries. The Daily Mail reports the shocking footage originated from a Nottinghamshire cricket WhatsApp group that still exists and was filmed by Kitt after a night out in a casino a few years ago.
The 29-year-old, whose LinkedIn profile was seemingly taken down on Monday evening, now works as a principal recruitment consultant for Forsyth Barnes, a company based in Nottingham. The firm, whose clients are said to include Manchester United and Real Madrid, are believed to have suspended Kitt pending an internal investigation.
Forsyth Barnes’ co-founder Roheel Ahmad shared a statement with Telegraph Sport on Tuesday, saying: “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. To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, Forsyth Barnes will not be making any further comments.”
A spokesman for Forsyth Barnes said the company did not wish to comment on the video itself. Kitt, believed to be a Plymouth Argyle fan, is reportedly “gutted” by the leak, which is said to be “the talk of cricket”.
One source claiming to have links to him posted online: “I’ve just been told the lad is absolutely gutted about it, he’s (was) really good mates with Coote, and, he honestly has no idea how this has come out.
“It will affect him too as he works in recruitment within the sports industry, so there’ll be plenty of grumbling there. He has no idea how it’s come out at all.”
(Image: PA)
The first of two videos showed Kitt asking Coote what he thought about Klopp, who left Liverpool at the start of the summer after nine years in charge, and his team.
Coote replies: “Liverpool were sh*t. [Klopp is a] c***, absolute c***. Aside from having a right pop at me when I was refereeing them against Burnley in lockdown.
“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 someone who is f***ing arrogant. So, I did my best not to speak to him. [James] Milner’s alright! I get on with him. But my god, German c***, f*** me.”
Kitt then concludes on the video: “Long story short, Jurgen Klopp’s a c***. Liverpool are all f***ing b***ends and we hate f***ing Scousers.”
In a second video, Coote said: “Just to be clear, that f***ing last video cannot go anywhere, seriously.” Kitt then added: “He’s a Premier League referee, let’s not ‘f***ing ruin his career.
“Let’s face it, 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.”
In a statement released after the videos went viral on social media on Monday, PGMOL (the Professional Game Match Officials Limited group, who officiate all top flight matches in England and Wales) said: “David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect pending a full investigation. PGMOL will be making no further comment until that process is complete.”