Booting out discrimination: Referee David Coote suspended over alleged derogatory comments

It has recently been reported that referee David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect, pending a full investigation, after a video, circulated on social media, allegedly shows him making derogatory comments about Liverpool Football Club and its former manager, Jurgen Klopp. Referees must be impartial and professional and the case raises issues as to whether Mr Coote has shown any bias against Liverpool Football Club due to his alleged personal dislike to the team. However, in this article, we will focus on the alleged discriminatory comments made and learnings from this. Given that the matter is currently being investigated, it will be a big case to watch, as if the allegations are proven, what action could be taken against Mr Coote?

The facts

The video refers to a Premier League match that Mr Coote officiated between Liverpool and Burnley in July, which ended 1-1. In the video, Mr Coote is said to have sworn several times when referring to Mr Klopp and calling him a derogatory term relating to his nationality.

Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body responsible for refereeing games in English professional association football, has suspended Mr Coote with immediate effect and appointed a UEFA ethics and disciplinary inspector to evaluate a potential violation of the UEFA disciplinary regulations by Mr Coote. His alleged comments are also being investigated by the Football Association casting controversy as to whether Mr Coote will be able to return to refereeing in the Premier League and international tournaments following such investigation. There are potential wider ramifications for if Mr Coote has shown any bias against Liverpool Football Club in his previous decision-making in games.

PGMOL have acted quickly in removing Mr Coote from UEFA’s matchlist and his part-time role at FIFA is also being revised.

Where the matter is currently being investigated, it is not yet known what consequences Mr Coote will face. However, if such allegations are proven, it could be as severe to result in termination of his professional refereeing role resulting in losing thousands of pounds of future income as well as reputational repercussions which could result in him not refereeing again.

Key takeaways

Direct discrimination is where someone can show they have been treated less favourably than a real or hypothetical comparator whose circumstances (other than the existence of the protected characteristic) are not materially different to their own. Harassment is the unwanted conduct related to a relevant characteristic which has the purpose or effect of either: violating another person’s dignity; or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person. It is important to note that a one-off incident can amount to harassment.

This case has already sparked controversy as to whether Mr Coote will be able to return as a referee to the Premier League, but what can employers take from this case?

• If you receive complaints of discriminatory and/or derogatory comments, act on these quickly and thoroughly, and engage your formal procedures (i.e. disciplinary, diversity, equality and inclusion and social media policies).
• Employers should take a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination in any form and provide equitable treatment to all those they deal with as an organisation. There should be no biases taken against any particular group of people.
• Promote awareness and training to staff at all levels on all aspects of equality and diversity within the workplace.
• Implement internal policies, ensuring that these are regularly reviewed and staff are trained on how to navigate in a practical setting.
• Ensure that all staff are aware of the consequences of breaching such policies, for example that, discrimination and victimisation may amount to gross misconduct resulting in dismissal.
• Create and embed an inclusive working environment that is sensitive to the needs of staff of differing cultures, nationalities, religions and beliefs. Fostering such a culture will help staff call out on poor behaviour.

If you need support with implementing any policies within your organisation, training staff on discrimination, equality and inclusion or want to find ways of creating an inclusive working environment, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our employment team who will be happy to help.