Ein Schiedsrichter muss unparteiisch sein, er darf sich in seiner Beurteilung nicht von persönlichen Befindlichkeiten leiten lassen. Wenn man sich nun aber die beiden Videos anhört, die derzeit in den sozialen Medien kursieren, kommt man zu der Erkenntnis: Gänzlich unvoreingenommen sind manche Schiedsrichter vielleicht doch nicht.
Am Montag wurden zwei Clips öffentlich, die den englischen Premier-League-Schiedsrichter David Coote dabei zeigen sollen, wie er den ehemaligen Liverpool-Trainer Jürgen Klopp heftig beleidigt. In dem einen Video wird Coote nach seiner Meinung zu einem Liverpool-Spiel gefragt, bei dem er gerade als vierter Offizieller im Einsatz war. Auf die Frage, was er über Klopp denke, antwortet Coote mit mehreren Beleidigungen, von denen noch die harmloseste ist, dass er kein Interesse daran habe, mit jemandem zu sprechen, der „verdammt arrogant“ sei.
In the other video, Coote can be heard asking that the recording not be shared. The man filming the scene on his smartphone added: “He’s a referee in the Premier League, let’s not ruin a guy’s career. We’re not that bad.” But now that’s apparently exactly what happened. The authenticity of the videos has not yet been confirmed, and there is no statement from Coote. However, the responsible referees’ association, PGMOL, was forced to suspend him with immediate effect until a full investigation is completed.
Authority suffers
Certain sympathies and antipathies towards other actors are human. But referees in particular have to be able to ignore them. Because as soon as there are public doubts about their impartiality, their authority suffers. One has to wonder what Coote was thinking when he allowed himself to be filmed in a presumably intoxicated state making disparaging comments about a coach. To think that these comments wouldn’t eventually become public was naive.
If players or coaches make offensive comments about a referee, they will be fined or suspended. This is not the case with referees. They must be accepted as an independent, integrity-based authority. That will no longer be the case with Coote. It would therefore not be enough that he is simply no longer allowed to referee Liverpool games. He has lost his credibility as a referee.
