The full list of Liverpool games where David Coote was referee, VAR or assistant

At the time of writing *that* David Coote video in which the Premier League referee calls Jurgen Klopp the C-word and describes Liverpool unfavourably has been viewed almost 50 million times on X. Sorry David, this probably isn’t going to blow over.

It doesn’t take a specialist in PR and communications to work out that the optics of a high-profile official launching into a glazy-eyed, expletive-packed rant about one of the competition’s biggest clubs and their former manager is not a great look.

Coote obviously cannot be the only whistleblower to develop an aversion to a Premier League manager given the level of abuse referees are routinely subjected to by those in the dugout.

But he is alone in letting those feelings become known in the public domain after foolishly letting his hazy stream of consciousness be filmed.

Predictably, some football fans, of a Liverpool persuasion or otherwise, perceive Coote’s comments as proof of PGMOL corruption. That is almost certaintly wide of the mark – Coote is a Notts County supporter, after all – but he has unquestionably put his bosses in a spot of bother. Conspiracy theorists need no invitation to spin their webs.

More likely is that Coote didn’t have much time for a man who criticised him while presumably using similarly choice language as that seen in the video. That is understandable on a human level; Coote’s grave error was saying it out loud, a misstep that will almost certainly cost him his job.

The whole saga has prompted debate over when the Coote vs Klopp beef really began. An origin story for the ages.

Below are the Liverpool fixtures that Coote covered as a referee and a video assistant referee (VAR) featuring some key dates in the timeline of one of the most extraordinary Premier League stories in years.

Coote’s Liverpool games as a referee

Premier League

• Liverpool 1-1 Burnley (11/07/2020)
• Liverpool 2-1 Brighton (31/03/2024)
• Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa (9/11/2024)

FA Cup

• Liverpool 4-1 Shrewsbury (9/1/2022)
• Brighton 2-1 Liverpool (29/1/2023)

Carabao Cup

• Preston 0-2 Liverpool (27/10/2021)
• Man City 3-2 Liverpool (22/12/2022)
• Liverpool 2-1 Fulham (10/1/2024)

As the old saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”. Coote refereed Liverpool for the first time in July 2020 and certainly didn’t endear himself to Klopp that day.

The Reds had already been crowned domestic champions for the first time in 30 years but were on track to set a Premier League record of winning all 19 home games across a season when Burnley visited for their penultimate fixture at Anfield.

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Andy Robertson gave Liverpool the lead, but a Nick Pope masterclass and Jay Rodriguez equaliser ensured the Reds had to settle for a 1-1 draw. After the game, Klopp confronted Coote on the pitch angered by his decision not to award a penalty after Johann Berg Gudmundsson had caught Robertson.

“We were angry with the referee but we have to criticise ourselves first for not finishing the game,” Klopp said.

This was the fixture referenced in Coote’s now-infamous tirade.

“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**king pop at me,” he said of Klopp.

Coote only officiated one more Premier League game involving Liverpool during Klopp’s tenure, a 2-1 win against Brighton at Anfield in March this year. It was a landmark day for the German, his 300th Liverpool victory, and largely passed by without incident.

Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa last Saturday was Coote’s third Premier League match involving the Reds, now managed by Arne Slot.

Coote’s Liverpool games as a VAR

Premier League

• Sheffield United 0-1 Liverpool (28/09/2019)
• Man Utd 1-1 Liverpool (20/10/2019)
• Everton 2-2 Liverpool (17/10/2020)
• Liverpool 3-1 West Ham (24/09/2023)
• Liverpool 2-0 Everton (21/10/2023)
• Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal (23/12/2023)
• Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool (04/02/2024)
• Brentford 1-4 Liverpool (17/02/2024)
• Everton 2-0 Liverpool (24/04/2024)
• Liverpool 2-0 Wolves (19/05/2024)
• Crystal Palace 0-1 Liverpool (05/10/2024)

2020-21 Community Shield

• Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool (6-5 on pens)

Coote went almost three years without officiating Liverpool on the pitch or at Stockley Park in the Premier League after overseeing a controversy-packed Merseyside derby in 2020.

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The game ended 2-2 but was overshadowed by a serious knee injury to Virgil van Dijk, caused by a reckless lunge by Jordan Pickford after referee Michael Oliver had already blown his whistle for offside. Pickford went unpunished and VAR didn’t review the incident.

Liverpool felt aggrieved again in added time of the second half when Sadio Mane was deemed to be offside when scoring what would have been a winning goal after a long VAR check.

“Look, I’m a real supporter of VAR but you would expect that, especially with offside, you then do the right decision,” Klopp said.

“We scored a goal one time at Aston Villa and they said the armpit was offside – sounds funny, we got it. This time, the picture I saw now once on the laptop, there is no armpit, there is nothing, we are just not offside.

“Since then I had 10 interviews around about and everybody tells me it was not offside and that doesn’t lift my mood obviously. You all watched it obviously more often. That’s tricky.

“We lost a player in a situation where VAR was not involved with Virgil and then maybe another one in the red-card situation and scored a legitimate goal which didn’t count.”

Coote’s Liverpool games as a fourth official (selected)

Premier League

• Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool (4/10/2020)

2021-22 FA Cup final

• Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea (6-5 on pens)

According to Transfermarkt, Coote has been assigned as a fourth official for more Liverpool matches (22 in total) than any other club in his career and so came into contact with Klopp frequently.

Coote was on the touchline when Liverpool were thrashed 7-2 by Aston Villa in October 2020, which appears to be the match he is referencing in the video.

“Liverpool were s**t,” he says when asked about the game, before adding: “I’ve got no interest in speaking to someone who is f**king arrogant so I do my best not to speak to him.”

Coote then says: “[James] Milner’s alright,” and then proceeds to show a picture of him and Milner during that game on his phone.

It was Liverpool’s heaviest defeat in Klopp’s nine years in charge.