Leeds United release statement following David Coote yellow card allegations — YEP 27/11/24

By Kyle Newbould

The allegations surround Leeds United’s meeting with West Brom in 2019.

Leeds United say they have 'full confidence' in the footballing authorities following allegations surrounding a yellow card shown by referee David Coote in 2019.

The Sun claim Coote discussed the prospect of booking Ezgjan Alioski with a Leeds fan before the Championship clash against West Bromwich Albion in October 2019, a game in which the North Macedonian was shown a yellow card for a challenge on Darnell Furlong. The 42-year-old strongly denies any wrongdoing and refuted those allegations on Wednesday.

Coote said in a statement: “I strongly refute these false and defamatory allegations. Whatever issues I may have had in my personal life they have never affected my decision-making on the field. I have always held the integrity of the game in the highest regard, refereeing matches impartially and to the best of my ability.”

The FA have said they are investigating the ‘very serious allegations’ as a matter of urgency. And Leeds released a statement shortly after.

A club statement read: “Leeds United are aware of the allegations regarding the conduct of a match official, involving our EFL Championship fixture with West Bromwich Albion in October 2019. We respect and have full confidence in the FA, EFL and PGMOL regulations and processes. We will be making no further comment at this time.”

Coote is already under investigation by the FA and PGMOL following the release of a video in which he appeared to make derogatory comments about Liverpool and their former manager, Jurgen Klopp. The match official is also under investigation by UEFA after the Sun published a video of him appearing to snort white powder during last summer’s European Championships in Germany.

A PGMOL spokesperson said on those allegations: “The facts need to be established in light of these very serious allegations. We adopt a zero-tolerance approach to any breach of our Integrity Code of Conduct, which is signed by all match officials on an annual basis.

“PGMOL Board is committed to taking the appropriate action should any breach of that Code be proven. David Coote remains suspended and subject to an ongoing disciplinary process by PGMOL, separate to the investigation into this matter which will be carried out independently by the FA. We will be making no further comment at this stage.”

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