Liverpool suffering from referee bias? Keith Wyness drops emphatic verdict
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has insisted David Coote’s comments about Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp are not an indication of any bias.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – insisted the referee is “perfectly entitled not to like” Klopp after their historic run-ins.
Coote, 42, has been suspended by PGMOL and is under investigation by the FA after footage of him slating Liverpool and their former manager leaked.
That footage appeared to have been taken in 2020 and the experienced official has continued to take charge of Reds games until it was unearthed earlier this month.
Some Liverpool fans have reacted to the bombshell news to claim Coote had an agenda against the Reds.
Keith Wyness shares David Coote verdict after latest Liverpool twist
However, Wyness insisted he does not believe the official brought any bias into his on-pitch performances.
He told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “We’ve not seen any cases of match-fixing issues. Luckily we’ve had good referees in England, I’d never allude to that being the case here.
“I don’t believe the referees are actually biased, but it’s the appearances which are the problem.
“They have to be a lot smarter about what they do, and that’s where education has got to come in.
“They’ll understand the tribal loyalties of football, and of course – they will have their own affiliations.
“I don’t think this is a Liverpool issue. It’s just the fact that Coote and Klopp didn’t get on – and he’s perfectly entitled not to like people.
“I get it. There’s a lot of people in football I don’t like.
“Let’s not forget that human beings and personal feelings are involved here, but the refereeing has to be the main focus. Let’s not make the referees the story off the pitch.”
In other news, Liverpool told bid Nottingham Forest will accept for Murillo.
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