Premier League

Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) have suspended English referee David Coote and are looking into a video that purportedly shows Coote making derogatory remarks toward former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.

The person identified as Coote from the video said that Liverpool was "s--t" when asked about the club, and he described Klopp as a "c--t" and "f--king arrogant," per the Daily Mail's Lewis Steele.

It's unclear when the video was filmed, but it appears to be from when Klopp was still the Liverpool manager. Coote used the present tense when he said, "I do my best not to speak to him," and also praised midfielder James Milner, who left Liverpool when his contract expired after the 2022-23 season.

The comments sparked an instant reaction, particularly among Reds supporters, and a suspension was inevitable.

Even if Coote never displayed any explicit bias against Liverpool in past matches, his credibility has been undermined in a major way. It took no time before fans examined close officiating decisions that went against Liverpool.

At the very least, it's hard to see how Coote could work another Liverpool match moving forward if the video is verified, and PGMOL could decide more serious measures are required.

Keith Hackett, a former top-level referee who once led PGMOL, told BBC Sport's Chris Osborne in 2016 the organization attempts to vet any potential conflicts of interest.

"At the beginning of every season the referees' background information is audited," he said. "They complete a form that includes who they support, the history of if they've played the game and with the addresses where they are residing.

"That gives you a picture that comes into use when you're appointing. It's about ensuring, for example, you wouldn't appoint a Sheffield-based ref for a Sheffield team."

Coote became a regular Premier League referee in 2018-19. He was coincidentally the referee for Liverpool's 2-0 win over Aston Villa in Matchday 11.

Four days after firing Erik ten Hag, Manchester United is hiring Rúben Amorim as its next manager.

United announced Amorim's hiring on Friday after he spent the previous four years with Primeira Liga club Sporting CP.

There had been rumblings about ten Hag's future following a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Premier League last season, but the Red Devils got redemption with a 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup Final.

United announced in July that ten Hag's contract had been extended until 2026 after the club exercised a one-year option in his contract.

Any positive momentum Manchester United hope to build on after the FA Cup Final hasn't carried over to the 2024-25 Premier League season. The club sits in 14th place with a 3-2-4 record going into Saturday's match with Chelsea.

Ten Hag was fired on Monday, 24 hours after a 2-1 loss to West Ham United. ESPN's Rob Dawson noted United bosses made the call to sack ten Hag because they had lost faith that he would be able to turn things around.

Ruud van Nistelrooy took over for ten Hag on an interim basis, managing United in its 5-2 win over Leicester City in the round of 16 at the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

Amorim's deal with Manchester United runs until 2027 with a team option for an additional year. Van Nistelrooy will continue to manage the club until Amorim takes over on Nov. 11.

The 39-year-old Amorim had a 13-year playing career from 2003 to '16. He moved into managing in 2018 when he was hired by Casa Pia and threatened to quit following a 0-2 start if the club didn't win its third match.

Amorim resigned as Casa Pia's manager in January 2019 after receiving a one-year ban for delivering match instructions without the required coaching badges. He returned to the managerial chair later that same year with Braga and was eventually hired by Sporting CP in March 2020.

Sporting CP has a 162-33-33 record in 228 matches under Amorim's watch.

Manchester City's Rodri is the 2024 Men's Ballon d'Or award winner after a phenomenal season.

The midfielder won trophies for both his club and his country this year. He and Manchester City won their fourth-straight Premier League in May before Rodri helped lead Spain to victory at Euro 2024.

While it was a special night for Rodri, it was a frustrating one for Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior, who was arguably Rodri's biggest challenger for the coveted award. After the snub, fans and teammates of Vinícius voiced their support for the star.

As Rodri took home the Ballon d'Or, Vinícius' Madrid was honored as the team of the year as it won both LaLiga and Champions League last season. Across his time with Madrid and Spain, Vinícius won 74 games in a row from March 2023 to May 2024.

His success with Madrid and Spain led many to believe Vinícius would hear his name called on Monday, but instead, Rodri was awarded his first Ballon d'Or.

According to ESPN, Vinícius refused to travel to Paris after learning he wouldn't take home the award. Eight of his teammates who were nominated for other awards followed him in not attending.

While some fans called his win over Vinícius a snub, Rodri relished taking home one of the most prestigious awards in the game.

"A very special day, for me, my family and my country," Rodri said. "I understand that because I have no social media, people don't know me much. I am just a normal guy. I enjoy the sport, I enjoy my profession. And I try to be a good person. I am a very calm person."

Though he was recognized for his success last season on Monday, Rodri won't get to enjoy the same success this year as he's expected to miss the entire campaign due to surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament.

Manchester United announced it sacked manager Erik ten Hag a day after suffering a 2-1 defeat to West Ham United in the Premier League.

"We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future," the club said.

Red Devils legend Ruud van Nistelrooy, who joined Ten Hag's staff at the start of the season, will take over as the interim manager.

Sporting CP coach Ruben Amorim "has emerged as the leading contender" to replace Ten Hag, per ESPN's Rob Dawson.

"The Sporting CP coach is aware of the interest, according to the source, as are his club, with United attempting to move quickly to name a new permanent manager after appointing Ruud van Nistelrooy as caretaker manager," Dawson wrote.

Ten Hag's fate was pretty much sealed in the summer, when Manchester United openly courted other candidates before ultimately sticking with him. It's tough for a manager to come back from being undermined to that degree.

The hiring of Van Nistelrooy did Ten Hag few favors, too. In the retired striker, the supporters had a clear alternative they could rally around if United got off to a slow start.

The managerial change is fully justified. Manchester United is 14th in the league table after finishing eighth last season. The club has opened the Europa League with three straight draws as well, so making a deep run in a winnable competition is far from assured.

The question is whether sacking Ten Hag actually solves anything.

The arrival of Jim Ratcliffe as a minority stakeholder seemingly promised change at Old Trafford. Despite only assuming 25 percent of the club's ownership, Ratcliffe and INEOS gained significant control over the football-related decisions.

The early returns of the Ratcliffe era aren't encouraging as it resembles the sort of listlessness and lack of direction that steadily settled under the Glazer family's ownership.

United not only retained Ten Hag but also backed him to the tune of €200 million-plus in transfer spending. Around €60 million of that went to two players (Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui) signed because of their familiarity with the manager from his time at Ajax.

It took Ratcliffe and INEOS nine Premier League matches to decide Ten Hag wasn't the right fit after all. In the meantime, Manchester United watched Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel, two experienced managers linked with the club in the summer, take national team jobs.

Van Nistelrooy will presumably have every opportunity to prove he's worthy of the job on a permanent basis. He should benefit from the fact things can't possibly get much worse than they are right now.

But the underlying problems at Manchester United might be far too large for any one manager to address.

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