Jamie Carragher has spoken out on the 'nightmare' situation surrounding the suspended Premier League official David Coote.
Footage circulated on social media on Monday of a man, alleged to be 42-year-old Coote, calling Liverpool "s**t" and making derogatory remarks about their former manager Jurgen Klopp.
The PGMOL suspended Coote pending a full investigation, which they are currently carrying out.
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The video has not been officially verified, but the Daily Mirror's Darren Lewis reports that the Nottinghamshire official has accepted that it is genuine, although does not recall making the remarks.
The FA are also launching their investigation over a potential aggravated misconduct breach relating to Coote's alleged reference towards Klopp's nationality. UEFA have suspended Coote and removed him from upcoming duties over the video.
But on Wednesday, a second video was published by The Sun and circulated across social media.
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It showed a man, who the outlet claims to be Coote, snorting a four-inch line of powder with a rolled-up US bank note.
The Sun reported that the video is from July 6 - the day after he acted as a support VAR official for the Euro 2024 quarter-final between Spain and Germany.
After the video was released, a PGMOL spokesperson said: "We are aware of the allegations and are taking them very seriously. David Coote remains suspended pending a full investigation.
"David's welfare continues to be of utmost importance to us and we are committed to providing him with the ongoing necessary support he needs through this period. We are not in a position to comment further at this stage."
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Now, Carragher has addressed the situation on a new episode of The Overlap's Stick to Football - which was recorded after the emergence of the Liverpool video but before the emergence of the powder video.
Jamie Carragher on David Coote
The Liverpool icon stated that Coote has had a 'nightmare' but explained what he 'despises' most about the situation.
He said: "The fact that it [the Liverpool video] has come out four years after lockdown, for someone to have kept that and put it out now.
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"People do stupid things. You've had a few drinks, and you wake up in the morning to delete that or whatever - but for someone to keep that is just... he [Coote] has had a nightmare. When the fella is saying what he said to the camera, just end the recording.
"I can't imagine what the fella [Coote] is going through now, and I don't want that cancel culture, but how can he now ref a rival? It's not just that he can't referee Liverpool, how does he referee Everton? The amount of eyes you get.
"The thing I despise most about social media is when a referee makes a decision and that whole fan base [is bickering].
"But also, did people not think that referees thought that about people anyway?"
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Jamie Carragher was speaking on The Overlap's Stick to Football, which is brought to you by Sky Bet.
Topics: Jamie Carragher, Football, Premier League, PGMOL, UEFA
Ryan Smart