West Brom tied up in 'shocking' controversy – Ex-PGMOL chief
Keith Hackett has branded new allegations against David Coote as "shocking" as West Brom were dragged into the latest controversy.
Speaking to MOT Leeds News (27 November), the ex-FIFA official and PGMOL chief was puzzled that allegations from a match between Leeds and the Baggies over five years ago had only now come to light.
The Sun reported on 26 November that prior to Albion's match at Elland Road in October 2019, Coote and a friend had discussed the referee giving Leeds' Ezgjan Alioski a yellow card – which he later did.
Hackett said: “My first thought is for the welfare of David Coote and the responsibility that the PGMOL have to ensure that they are delivering the appropriate Duty of Care towards their employee.
“The whole scenario is shocking and this further revelation is adding to the list of matters to be investigated. This will of course impact on the time that it will take for the investigation team to reach a decision.
“Whilst referees prepare for the game ahead the idea of having a pre-conceived idea that a certain player is likely to get a yellow card is frankly unacceptable and something I have not come across in my career of managing officials.”
Hackett added: “The aim of a referee is to keep 22 players on the field and this is achieved by been pro-active using an array of management skills. I expect every referee who crosses that white line to officiate a game to have a blank canvas in front of them.
“The players start to paint the pictures and you deal with incidents by applying the law accurately. It takes many years to reach the elite panel with 30,000 referees in England and only 20 places on the panel of Premier League referees.
“I find it puzzling why anyone would want to put a career at risk given what David Coote is accused of.“
West Brom don't need David Coote distraction this season
While Coote has vehemently denied the allegations that he'd planned to book Alioski all along in Albion's match with Leeds over five years ago, the signs aren't looking good for the controversial official.
However, Coote discussing such an action pre-match, and checking in with the friend once again at full-time, could prove to be the error of judgement which ends his refereeing career.
Furlong has since become a senior player for the Premier League-chasing Baggies, and just like 2019/20, they'll be hoping that they can mount a successful promotion push alongside Leeds.
Such distractions – on which the club are yet to release a statement – aren't ideal in a close-run play-off race, and fans will hope the Baggies can steer clear of any further controversies beyond their control.
In other West Brom news, an update regarding Leicester City’s pursuit of Carlos Corberan will leave Albion fans fearing the worst.