The Referee Thread

[Buzzo]

[ame]https://twitter.com/guardian_sport/status/1856378310848328130[/ame]

[dom9]

https://x.com/barneyronay/status/1856435427462234205

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/nov/12/wretched-haunted-and-glassy-eyed-david-coote-was-made-by-modern-football

An article which articulates what I was getting at, much better than than I am able to.

[Buzzo]

Yeah that’s a fair article

[The_weatherman]

https://x.com/barneyronay/status/1856435427462234205

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/nov/12/wretched-haunted-and-glassy-eyed-david-coote-was-made-by-modern-football

An article which articulates what I was getting at, much better than than I am able to.

Much better, I'm swayed a little bit.

[Norbs]

That video is 4 years old, he seems to have coped well enough in the interim, if he suffers because of it's release then that lies squarely at the door of his mate.

I'm not going to feel sympathy for him now, he was woefully inept and almost certainly biased in a position that requires him to be wholly unbiased. He certainly didn't cut the image of a 'fragile human' prior to this

[Exiled_red]

[ame="https://twitter.com/arsenalfami1y/status/1856368367008878919"]https://twitter.com/arsenalfami1y/status/1856368367008878919[/ame]

This is the only video I can find of this, some bits have been cut maybe questions asked to him.

But as you would expect from former refs protecting one of their own, blaming person who took video, saying it would be up to him if he wants to come back and referee again.

[Mr Pink]

I do feel sorry for him. He's entitled to think klopp is a cunt, from his perspective it's pretty understandable. Refs probably think the same about many people they come across.

He looks uncomfortable in the video, he's clearly out of it, and looks like a bullied kid and he's been targeted by the releasing of it now. I also don't agree with that idea that he can't ref in the PL again because he doesn't deserve that level of punishment. Is his role as an independent arbiter untenable? Of our games in the near term, yes, I guess it is, but I don't see why he shouldn't ref other games after a bit of a suspension, and back to full time next year. I suspect he's shot though.

I think most of us would lose our job if a video circulated of us calling a colleague “a German cunt”. Even more likely to lose our job if we are in a position of power over that person. **** him, hope he gets what he deserves, the xenophobic prick.

[BG1973]

Depends how valuable we were to the business. He's easily expendable so he's in big trouble.

So get Coote gets fired for perceived and potential impartiality. How does the PL deal with issue that he's not alone in his views, just the only idiot who got himself filmed saying it.

[SB]

I think most of us would lose our job if a video circulated of us calling a colleague “a German cunt”. Even more likely to lose our job if we are in a position of power over that person. **** him, hope he gets what he deserves, the xenophobic prick.

100%

[labourRed]

That video is 4 years old, he seems to have coped well enough in the interim, if he suffers because of it's release then that lies squarely at the door of his mate.

I'm not going to feel sympathy for him now, he was woefully inept and almost certainly biased in a position that requires him to be wholly unbiased. He certainly didn't cut the image of a 'fragile human' prior to this

Yeah. That article was good writing to be fair but i think there was a bit of stretching going on, i.e. he looks haunted. He always has before/after, that's how he looks, ffs. Do all gormless lucking ****ers get a pass.

He's well recompensed for doing an albeit tough job, badly and frankly he was never going to get sacked on competence grounds.

It's the same for anyone that gets cancelled for whatever, they are usually in positions of power, influence etc and of course its hard to fall off that perch, yet no one isn't saying he shouldn't be looked after.

[The_weatherman]

I love Klopp, but of course refs probably didn't He could be combative and fierce on the sidelines and it's entirely possible more refs feel like Coote. Maybe Slot will steady the waters, he's very likeable and seems to be great at this sort of stuff, seems we need to have a diplomatic relationship with the PGMOL to get anywhere.

[BG1973]

On what grounds then should he be fired for saying what other refs may feel as well.

This is just highlighting that most match officials take things personally and may be holding grudges. Firing him doesn't change that.

'German ****' is the worst bit and the only real grounds to punish him IMO.

[badpiggy]

From the Barney Ronay article:

Refereeing is basically a nightmare now, a job that requires you to be simultaneously a regulation hyper-nerd, super-cool air traffic controller, long distance runner, font of matey common sense and also immune to mass abuse and threats of violence.

Anyone who's ever had a day where a customer/client/student/parent/passenger has been very difficult knows how stressful it is and how long it can stay with you. How about if that was every work day and professional athletes and their managers loom over you and scream abuse at you and try to deceive you at every turn? Yeah yeah you're paid for it and it's your job etc but I think a fact we all forget is that, generally, professional sport allows and in fact must encourage people - and turns them into multimillionaires in doing so - to behave in ways that are outrageous outside that small world and all for our entertainment.

Any human that behaved in the way many athletes behave as a central component to their job - and that hyper competitiveness is essential in top athletes - outside of that environment would rightly be considered an absolute cunt. Possibly a successful cunt but not necessarily.

Just this morning, as happens on many days, I've had an interaction with a colleague I have to work very closely with and he's a petulant never wrong hissy-fitting ****. He also works very hard (in his case I know for a fact that his constant hard work is to keep the many demons that haunt him somewhat quiet). He has many of the maniacal qualities that successful athletes have - in fact successful anythings have it in many cases - but holy **** is he an absolute nightmare of a human to be around and deal with. Stick 22 of them and their even more hyper-driven managers in a pro arena and see how many refs come away with a positive view of any of them.

All that said, they sorted out not hassling refs in rugby a long time ago and the cards for dissent are a great idea since they were introduced in the Euros as well.

[Irishnev]

He didn’t address if his predisposed bias may have impacted his decision making. I’m sorry for the guy and he must now deal with the consequences of his words but from a selfish football perspective his subjective decisions cost us one title….. ill always wonder if bias impacted the decision making process

[Doc_Piptorious]

I think most of us would lose our job if a video circulated of us calling a colleague “a German cunt”. Even more likely to lose our job if we are in a position of power over that person. **** him, hope he gets what he deserves, the xenophobic prick.

I'm with you on that if you mean you hope he gets what deserves in a professional capacity.


What he has done with his comments is turned conversation about him "only" being bad at his job to him being bad at his job on purpose as a means to punish those he is in a position to oversee.

His decisions which can have an impact, financial or mental, on the people on the receiving ends of them. So if he is going to be painted as a victim in some ways, then it is only fair that he is also painted as a perpetrator for his own treatment of others.


Throw in the xenophobic comment, throw in the slandering of the team save for Milner and also the potentially taking of a substance that may be a class A party favour and you have the sort of behaviour that would see you fired from almost any job in the land not to mention legal action being taking against you for some of it.

Supporters of teams get banned from football grounds for xenophobic comments so should a ref be judged to a lower standard? I think not.

Managers and players get charged if they comment on their own social media about football related topics and can be charged even if what they say/do is not directly releated to the sport on the grounds of bringing the games into disrepute by association. So what he has done falls under that.


As for the man away from the job and whether there is a genuine mental wellness issue.....that is something for trained professionals to evaluate but as one or two have said in the thread it is noticeable that claims of whatever ailment only tend to surface when one's actions bite them on the arse badly and not before.


That said, I would still lean towards only going after him professionally (and legally for the xenophobic side of things) though and leaving his personal life/family etc all out of the media spotlight.

His actions and words are fair game for harsh criticism and investigation as he has earned, again legally/professionally, what punishments he has bought with them.

It is not as though he, in time, cannot do what other people have to do in the real world when they mess up badly and eventually find another job away from football.