Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville face social media backlash for acting like the mouthpiece for David Coote and PGMOL as a new video resurfaced after Coote’s tirade against Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp. Carragher and Neville dominate the punditry world in English football but their stance during the David Coote controversy is condemn-worthy.

The first video exposed Coote’s use of a xenophobic slur against Klopp, highlighting his issues with the Reds. The disgraced referee also badmouthed Liverpool at the recording’s beginning while asking the recorder to keep the video private.

After the first video, a second video surfaced showing Coote abusing illegal drugs before a Euro 2024 game. While the origin source of the new video is a disgrace itself, the content is authentic.

The PGMOL spokesperson (via BBC) has addressed the new video, stating that the matter is “very serious”. He said:

 “We are aware of the allegations and are taking them very seriously. David Coote remains suspended pending a full investigation. David’s welfare continues to be of utmost importance to us and we are committed to providing him with the ongoing necessary support he needs through this period. We are not in a position to comment further at this stage.”

It is not a surprise for any Liverpool fan that Neville and Carragher have opted to remain silent earlier. They used the Overlap to address the issues and bounced between the unfairness of Coote losing his job over abuse.

These are the same pundits who voice their uncensored opinions immediately whenever any club demands fairness in the game. Although this evidence does not strongly suggest corruption, it clearly reveals unconscious bias.

Furthermore, the comments from Carragher and Neville arrived before the second piece of evidence took social media by storm. However, the two pundits have resorted to silence once again instead of tackling the controversy head-on as they usually do. The idea of Sky Sports working alongside PGMOL to protect each other is becoming an undeniable reality at this moment.

All Liverpool fans want is fairness

There are few jobs in the world which are as protected from constructive criticism and accountability as the refereeing profession. However, the referees deserve some level of protection given that their decisions will always bring scrutiny from one side.

However, constructive criticism is necessary and without it, the situation will always breed abuse of power. Liverpool fans have always voiced concern about PGMOL hiring a majority of referees from selective locations, causing favouritism.

Irrespective of it all, one thing that could ease up all the problems and controversy is diminishing the subjectiveness. Many rules are open for subjective interpretation which causes a lot of problems in football, inviting constant controversies.

While everyone loves controversy to spice things up in the game, refereeing and decision-making are areas that should stay objective. The PGMOL had enough time since the arrival of VAR technology to rectify this area and truly help their referees.

Officials frequently interpret handball, disciplinary actions, and offside decisions based on circumstances and teams, leading to inconsistencies. Liverpool suffered the most due to bad decisions in critical games last season that hurt their campaign.

From disallowing a legitimate goal against Tottenham Hotspur to a denied handball penalty against Arsenal and a denied high-boot late challenge penalty call against Manchester City, Liverpool lost critical points due to bad refereeing.

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PGMOL need to make rules less subjective to interpretation while implementing technologies like semi-automated offside decisions. These methods will help bypass refereeing favouritism and threats towards their integrity while making the game smoother and more efficient.