DAVID COOTE “deserves” to have a continued role in English football, the chairman of the Referees’ Association (RA) has said.

Coote’s contract as an elite-level referee with Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) was terminated last month after a video emerged showing him making derogatory comments about Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp.

A separate video also showed Coote taking cocaine. In an interview with The Sun, released on Monday evening, Coote came out as gay and said his struggle to hide his sexuality had contributed to him making bad choices, such as the video about Liverpool, and his use of drugs.