Can't believe how over the top some of the stuff I've read about this is.
Anyone who thinks that this has or should have damaged the reputation of the entire refereeing profession needs to get a massive grip.
As a public figure, it's sensible for someone in Coote's position to understand that they need to exercise a level of professionalism that extends into their private life. Getting himself in that situation and allowing himself to be filmed is terrible judgement on every level and massively humiliating for him on a personal one.
But, I don't understand how anyone could believe that all referees don't have personal grudges and dislikes of different teams and figures in the game based on their own personal experiences. I'm sure they've all openly discussed it with close friends too, they just haven't been filmed. Like the rest of us, referees are football fans. And all fans have different views on different teams. It's not a referee's job to have zero thoughts and feelings and the people they deal with, it's their job to not let those opinions influence how they referee a game. From what I can see, Coote's refereeing has been dotted with mistakes but no more than most others and not showing any specific bias to anyone.
We've all seen referees been on the receiving end of totally unacceptable abuse from players and managers. And I'm sure they've all come away from those exchanges thinking the person responsible for it was a twat..
Coote's been an idiot and his career is obviously over now. I have no idea what kind of person he is (doesn't seem my kind of guy tbh) but the continuing nature of this attack on him for the sake of some tabloid gossip could easily end in a tragic fashion. The people selling him out are shady AF too and should be embarrassed with themselves.