Cooote was initially suspended by the PGMol on November 11 after a video arose on his social networks making derogatory comments about Liverpool and the former manager of the Jurgen Klopp club.
He now says that he apologizes “with anyone who has offended for my actions” and that “I was not sober” at the time the video was recorded.
On November 13, The Sun published photos that, he says, were taken during the European championship last year, claiming that they seemed to show Cooote sniffing a white powder through a rolled note of the US bank.
His conduct is under investigation by the Football Association and the governing body of European UEFA football.
Cook told The Sun that he has been in an “incredibly dark place” since his photographs were published in the euros and that “he was not sure he had done it today” without the support of the family and colleagues.
On November 27, the FA opened a new investigation after an accusation that Cook had argued to give a yellow card before a championship match between Leeds and West Brom in 2019. He has always denied these accusations.
Discussing the events that led to their dismissal, he says that his mother died suddenly in 2023 and at the same time that his uncle was diagnosed with motor neurons disease.
In the 2023-24 season, he says he officiated more than 90 games worldwide, followed by the European championship and then the Olympic Games, and fought with the pressure and stress of his work, adding: “Physical and psychological demands In the party the officials are really significant.
“I don’t recognize in the cocaine video. I can’t resonate how I felt then, but that was me. I was fighting with the schedule and there was no opportunity to stop. And so I found myself in that position – escaping.”
Cooote told The Sun that he was on his drug habit after having therapy and felt “a great feeling of shame” for what happened.
“I am guilty of doing what I did, but I am trying to be the best person I can be now. I have taken measures to try to be the best that I can be from both physical and mental well -being [perspective]”He added.
“For other people who are in my situation, I would say that I seek help and talk to someone because if I bottled it, I have to go out somehow.”
If you have been affected by any of the problems in this article, you can visit the BBC line of action for information and addiction support.
