SACKED Premier League referee David Coote is now delivering packages for Evri — and says: “I’m just trying to make an honest living.”
A couple were stunned to see the 42-year-old on their Ring doorbell, below, dropping off a parcel.
Coote is serving a 16-month UEFA ban after video emerged of him savaging former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, and a Sun clip showed him taking cocaine.
He works for the courier firm near his home in Newark, Notts, and said: “I want to get on with my life.
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“I’m trying to move forwards and regain a sense of responsibility and purpose.
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“The job is keeping me busy and occupied, it’s not a new long-term career.”
The Sun told in November how Coote had called Klopp a “German c***” in a leaked video.
We then revealed a film of him doing cocaine at last summer’s Euros.
The homeowner at the address he delivered to said: “My husband’s a Liverpool fan and what David said didn’t go down well.
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“My husband had ordered a part for a vehicle he’s working on and recognised David.
“He said, ‘He’s delivering packages now’. I was like ‘Oh my gosh, is he really?’
“It’s his own downfall, at the end of the day. David got himself into this mess.
“He lives up the road. I see him around town a lot.”
Coote was fired by referee governing body PGMOL in December and is banned by UEFA till next June.
He said: “The drugs happened on an entirely ad-hoc basis.
“It fills me with a huge sense of shame to sit here and to say that I took that route.”
Last month he ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon to raise money for his uncle Mick who has motor neurone disease.
Coote said: “I’m doing what I want to do, focusing on what’s important like spending more time with friends and family.”
Friends backed him. A source said: “David’s a great lad who lost his career through stupidity, as he fully acknowledges.
“There might be a return for him to the game at some point, and football definitely needs experts like him.
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“Until then he obviously has to pay the bills.”
Evri did not comment.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
