‘Strange…’ – How Gary Neville reacted to David Coote VAR decision prior to Liverpool match

Gary Neville had questioned a decision to remove David Coote from VAR for a Liverpool match in 2020, in light of the official being involved in multiple controversies involving the Reds that year.

Four years ago this month, the referee was initially assigned to duty in Stockley Park for LFC’s home clash against Leicester, only for him to be removed from that particular fixture three days before it took place.

Only a few weeks earlier, the now 42-year-old had been on VAR for the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park when he failed to intervene for a reckless Jordan Pickford challenge which left Virgil van Dijk with a season-ending ACL injury, while also ruling out a stoppage time winner for Sadio Mane due to a contentious offside call.

After that 2-2 draw against Everton, Jurgen Klopp claimed that Coote had ‘forgotten’ the rules which would’ve enabled the official to advise the on-field referee as to the former incident.

Towards the tail end of the previous season, the ref had angered Andy Robertson and the then-Liverpool boss over decisions made during a 1-1 tie at home to Burnley.

Neville questioned Coote VAR decision

In light of the Nottinghamshire ref’s X-rated tirade against the former Liverpool manager, which came to light on Monday and has since led to him being suspended by the PGMOL, a tweet from Neville in November 2020 has resurfaced.

The Sky Sports pundit was reacting to the announcement that Coote wouldn’t be on VAR for Leicester’s visit to Anfield at that time, commenting: “Strange. Why?”

Strange . Why? https://t.co/QUN9QdvQwz

— Gary Neville (@GNev2) November 19, 2020

Neville bewildered but the decision made sense

That decision from four years ago has now taken on a fresh context in light of the viral video featuring the referee using crude language to describe Klopp, even if it left Neville bewildered at the time.

With the fallout from the Merseyside derby still fresh that autumn, especially given the injury which was inflicted on Van Dijk, the PGMOL must’ve read the room and thought it best not to have Coote involved on a Liverpool game so soon after the controversial Goodison Park fixture.

The mess could’ve been avoided had they simply not assigned him to the Reds’ clash against Leicester at all, and he too brought it on himself with his baffling decision-making (or lack thereof, in the Pickford instance) in the derby.

One thing we can probably now say with a large degree of assurance is that the 42-year-old won’t be involved in any match directly or indirectly affecting LFC in the future, following his derogatory remarks about Klopp and a series of contentious incidents in other games featuring the current Premier League leaders.

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