The Referee Thread

[Exiled_red]

Not sure where to put this but the PL are using and image of Doku's challenge on MacAllister as an image for a page on their website about high foot challenges

https://www.premierleague.com/news/4079982

[SB]

Not sure where to put this but the PL are using and image of Doku's challenge on MacAllister as an image for a page on their website about high foot challenges

https://www.premierleague.com/news/4079982

Are they showing opposition teams what they will get away with when they play us?

[kingfunk]

I see Coote, has come out as gay, and apologised whist giving an interview to the scum…

[Buzzo]

Gives the exlusive interview to the same rag that exposed him. Says it all.

[spud_gun]

He'll have been 'persuaded' to give them the exclusive

[Paul12]

I feel sorry for Coote - and indeed for any person who believes they can't publicly be the person they feel themselves to be because of the abuse they'll get - unless they feel themselves to be an axe murderer of course.

I agree with the general view on this website that UK referees make too many mistakes and many of them ref our games differently to other games, but I don't think Coote was any worse than any of the others and I really couldn't care one way or another whether he dislikes JK - or any other Liverpool manager.

[labourRed]

I don't. **** him.

He was **** at his job whether on the field or in front of a computer. ****ed us over so many times I can't even count - in games where it's about small margins, it matters.

He was one of the very worst, let's not rewrite history. Whether he was gay or not is irrelevant, it didn't make him terrible at his job - he was just ****ing awful. Delighted he's been sacked to be honest, should have happened years ago on merit.

[Doc_Piptorious]

I see Coote, has come out as gay, and apologised whist giving an interview to the scum…

I find it to be very cynical.

Who cares if he is gay? It has nothing to do with how he conducted himself as a professional referee and it has nothing to do with the comments he was making about people.

He was unprofessional in his job, he was lax in his job and at best he was incompetent at his job.

For me the whole publically coming out thing is just to deflect from his own actions be they related to his job or related to taking illegal class A drugs.

[Le Chef]

I find it to be very cynical.

Who cares if he is gay? It has nothing to do with how he conducted himself as a professional referee and it has nothing to do with the comments he was making about people.

He was unprofessional in his job, he was lax in his job and at best he was incompetent at his job.

For me the whole publically coming out thing is just to deflect from his own actions be they related to his job or related to taking illegal class A drugs.

Inclined to agree - very cynical in my eyes

[RichC]

I find it to be very cynical.

Who cares if he is gay? It has nothing to do with how he conducted himself as a professional referee and it has nothing to do with the comments he was making about people.

He was unprofessional in his job, he was lax in his job and at best he was incompetent at his job.

For me the whole publicly coming out thing is just to deflect from his own actions be they related to his job or related to taking illegal class A drugs.

That's my take on it as well.

The cynic in me feels this is a massive PR job helped by the PL to ensure their product isn't damaged in the aftermath.

[Doc_Piptorious]

That's my take on it as well.

The cynic in me feels this is a massive PR job helped by the PL to ensure their product isn't damaged in the aftermath.

Yeah the protecting of the "product" is what I was thinking of when I said it felt really cynical.


Think had Coote not been gay then the drug addiction side would have been pushed more and if there had been no drug angle they simply would have found some other line to trot out and use the man to push that instead.


Bottom line for me is the man was not fit for duty on a number of levels (none of which involve him being gay) and rather than the PMGOL and the PL looking inward to their own professional standards, and maybe a duty of care towards individuals if needed, we get a media campaign now to deflect away from why this man who was poor at his just remained in his job and why many others who appear to be incompetent/inconsistent in the same roles are remaining in their jobs.

[RichC]

I do have sympathy for the abuse he's got on social media, that's not on but his actions and behaviour is on him.

As you say it should have been a watershed moment for PGMOL etc.. to get their houses in order but as per usual that's not happening.

[Mark79]

Gives the exlusive interview to the same rag that exposed him. Says it all.

Bet they had more on him so the compromise was an exclusive interview in return for not revealing everything.

[Kenneth]

Certainly possible.

[Doc_Piptorious]

I do have sympathy for the abuse he's got on social media, that's not on but his actions and behaviour is on him.

As you say it should have been a watershed moment for PGMOL etc.. to get their houses in order but as per usual that's not happening.

Oh any OTT abuse he got is obviously wrong, though lower level stuff like saying he was really bad at his job is fully warranted imo as is any stuff that said he was an ignorant man for his jingoistic comments.


What bugs me is the fact it is difficult to know whether the man had real issues going on all the time or if this is just another case of an individual's issues only becoming issues after being caught doing something bad.


On a personal level if he has mental issues I hope he gets the help and care he needs (though I would argue that his employers would need to be held to account in that case for both enabling him on some fronts and for an utter failure in terms of duty of care for their employee)


But none of that will be part of this media campaign I suspect. It will all be let's ignore years and years of poor performances and bad behaviour by him and others and not question why he and others were and are allowed to continue as such.


The gay side of it does not matter a jot to the PL, FA, PMGOL and the majority of others involved in this campaign imo. We saw how easily the whole rainbow armband campaigns etc were chucked aside. We saw how easily many changed their values on that score, not least in that sham of a world cup where lots of the big mouths who claimed to be for equality and LGBTQ+ rights suddenly clammed up in the face of bank balances.

We saw how the only person on camera at that world cup with any balls was a person born without any in Alex Scott. Did not watch the world cup but was struck by pictures I saw of her standing on camera on pitches with bare arms/ shoulders and keeping the rainbow armband on her arm facing the cameras.


Nah for me Coote's mental issues (minor or major) and sexuality are just camouflage for organisations to hide behind and quite possibly also a way for the man himself to avoid accountability for his own actions (if his issues in reality were on the minor end of the scale).


I fully expect him to turn up in one of those awful "celeb" reality shows like the Jungle one and then some redemption arc plays out.



And as an aside it amuses me to see the world of football described as "macho". This being a world were fit large men fall to the ground with the tiniest hint of physical contact.