Ex-referee Gallagher backs Coote over bias claim as FA launch investigation

Referee David Coote's career is hanging by a thread after a video surfaced on social media capturing him criticising former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp with derogatory remarks. Coote was videod calling the incoming Red Bull head of football operations a "German c***". He has since been suspended by the Refereeing body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and later dumped by UEFA, as he was set to officiate in the Nations League during the upcoming internationals.
The English Football Association (FA) have now launched an investigation of their own on the referee. The 'Athletic' report that a FA spokesperson told on Tuesday: “We are aware of the matter, and we are investigating it.” The 42-year-old could also face action from the FA for using Klopp’s nationality to preface one of his comments, which could breach the governing body’s rules on discrimination.
The situation has fueled speculation that certain officials show bias towards or against certain clubs. Nevertheless, former referee Dermot Gallagher reassured that is not the case. "I refereed for 46 years, and most of my decisions are based on instinct; you have a knowledge of the laws of the game, the experience that you built up over the years," he said.
He then continued as he said: "You see an incident and act instinctively, it's like driving a car, you see a red light, you don't think ‘change gear, brake, stop’. You just do it. I don't think any referee has any chance to think like that [biased against certain clubs], what I would say is that at the top level, the scrutiny is so intense - it's unbelievable. The referees are so exposed to all kinds of things, if a decision isn't right. Every weekend, the key match incidents are looked at by an independent panel of ex-referees - that's how it's scrutinised, every referees performance is reviewed match-by-match-by-match."
Moreover, Gallagher has come forward in defence of Coote over accusations painting him as a bias referee, specifically against Liverpool. "A referee, like David, has refereed on there for nine years, he wouldn't have survived at that level if he wasn't refereeing on a top level if he wasn't making high profile, good decisions."