EXCLUSIVEDavid Coote's 'former friend' is SUSPENDED from his job after he was filmed next to shamed Premier League ref as he called Jurgen Klopp a '****'
- Mail Sport sources have identified the man with David Coote as an ex-cricketer
- Forsyth Barnes, his employers, have suspended him pending an investigation
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Ben Kitt, the man who appeared in the astonishing leaked video involving suspended Premier League referee David Coote, has been suspended from his job at an executive recruitment firm in the wake of the scandal.
Coote, who was suspended with immediate effect by refereeing chiefs PGMOL on Monday pending a full investigation, shockingly described Liverpool as 's***' and former Reds manager Jurgen Klopp as a 'German ****' in an expletive tirade during the viral video.
Although PGMOL are looking into the possibility of the video being a deep-fake or made with artificial intelligence, Coote reportedly accepts it is a genuine recording, claiming that he does not recall the contents of the entire conversation.
According to sources who contacted Mail Sport over the identity of Coote's friend, the man sitting alongside the Premier League referee is former Nottinghamshire cricketer Kitt, who once held down a two-year contract at the club.
Mail Sport understands that the video is from a Nottinghamshire cricket WhatsApp group that still exists, filmed after a night out in a casino a few years ago.
The man who appeared in the astonishing video involving suspended Premier League referee David Coote is believed to be ex-Nottinghamshire cricketer Ben Kitt (pictured on Facebook)
Coote (above) described Jurgen Klopp as a 'German ****' in a foul-mouthed tirade during the video and has since been suspended by refereeing chiefs PGMOL while they investigate
Coote (left) tells the camera 'that f***ing last video cannot go anywhere' in the second video uploaded online while the man identified as Kitt (right) says 'let's not 'f***ing ruin his career'
Forsyth Barnes, whose clients are said to include Manchester United and Real Madrid, are believed to have suspended Kitt pending an internal investigation in the video.
The firm's co-founder Roheel Ahmad shared a statement with Telegraph Sport on Tuesday, saying: 'Forsyth Barnes understands that the leaked video of David Coote includes one of its employees, Ben Kitt.
'This is something that we are taking very seriously and we have suspended Ben on full pay while we investigate further.
'Although we are still in the process of gathering all the facts, we do know for certain that the video was taken some years before Ben became an employee of Forsyth Barnes.
'In his time with the business, Ben has demonstrated a strong [work] ethic and dedication to his career. He has matured considerably and grown into a responsible young man.
'To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, Forsyth Barnes will not be making any further comments.'
A spokesman for the firm added that the company did not wish to comment on the video itself.
Kitt is understood to be devastated by the leak, with one source claiming to have links to the 29-year-old posting: 'I’ve just been told the lad is absolutely gutted about it, he’s (was) really good mates with Coote, and, he honestly has no idea how this has come out.
Coote was the man in charge during Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Aston Villa this weekend
'It will affect him too as he works in recruitment within the sports industry, so there’ll be plenty of grumbling there.
'He has no idea how it’s come out at all.'
Kitt, whose LinkedIn profile appears to have been taken down on Monday evening, now works as a Principal Recruitment Consultant for a company in Nottingham and recruits staff on six-figure salaries.
Sources close to Kitt have also contacted Mail Sport claiming that Coote's astonishing video is currently 'the talk of cricket'.
Another source told Mail Sport on Monday that Kitt supports Plymouth Argyle and lives in Nottingham, where he is a local at pubs including the Whistle & Flute and Mist Rolling Inn.
Mail Sport has approached Kitt for comment via his work email and social media.
The viral video shows both Coote and his 'friend' looking worse for wear while the latter delivered an explicit rant about Liverpool and Klopp.
'Liverpool were s***,' Coote said in the video. '(Klopp is a) ****, absolute ****. Aside from having a right pop at me when I was refereeing them against Burnley in lockdown, he accused me of lying and then had a right f***ing pop of me.
'I have no interest in speaking to someone who is f***ing arrogant. So I do my best not to speak to him. (James) Milner is all right, I get on with him. You can see me there with a 'mask' on. But, my god, German ****, f*** me.'
Kitt, whose LinkedIn profile appeared to be taken down on Monday, now works in recruitment
Kitt had a two-year contract at Trent Bridge (above), home of Nottinghamshire Cricket Club
In a second video, he said: 'Just to be clear, that f***ing last video cannot go anywhere, seriously.'
Kitt added: 'He's a Premier League referee, let's not 'f***ing ruin his career. Let's face it, we're good blokes but we can't ruin a bloke's career. We're not that bad. Also, he's a f***ing legend.'
Kitt, 29, signed his first professional cricket deal in 2017 after impressing for the Nottinghamshire academy and their second XI, claiming more than 100 wickets in a single summer before a stress fracture in his back derailed what could have been a promising career.
Coote's father, David Edward Coote, also played for Nottinghamshire, making a single first-class appearance against Yorkshire at Trent Bridge in 1977.
Despite his efforts to recover during his maiden first-class season at Nottinghamshire, Kitt continued to suffer injury setbacks and was eventually released by the club in 2019.
He told Nottinghamshire Live in 2019: 'Sometimes injuries weren't fully healed. It wasn't the club rushing me back against my will, not at all.
'You want to get out there. I wouldn't say I regretted rushing back. It would have been much easier on my body if I had taken it easy though.
'I didn't think it would go how it did at Notts. To say I'm angry wouldn't be the right word. I'm upset how it panned out though. I'm not angry at the club at all. They were great. It's just the injuries. It's tough to take.'
