Former Premier League referee David Coote has insisted that his drug use had no influence on his on-pitch decisions as he opened up on his sacking and why he said he is ashamed of his actions.

Coote was fired by England's referee body PGMOL last month after being suspended in November for being "in serious breach of the provisions of his employment contract." It followed a video circulating on social media showing the official allegedly making disparaging remarks about Liverpool and their ex-manager Jürgen Klopp.

The investigation also covered a second video appearing to show Coote snorting a white powder, purportedly during the 2024 European Championship where he was one of the assistant VARs. European football's governing body UEFA has appointed an ethics investigator to look into the matter.

Coote, who apologised for his actions earlier this week and said a fear of abuse due to his sexuality triggered his behaviour, spoke in detail about his sacking in an interview with Sky Sports News, where he was asked if his drug use affected his ability to make "clear and concise decisions during matches."

"I can understand why [people] may think that way," Coote, 42, said. "However, I do want to make it clear that this was really personal for me.

"It was around my responses to coping with pressure and it was postgame without an implication on my work. I don't condone it for one instance of course. I regret taking those actions. I made really poor choices at that time.

"There were times when I escaped to a place that I really don't want to go back to."

Coote was suspended by PGMOL on Nov. 11. The controversy escalated a few days later when UK newspaper The Sun released a second video allegedly showing the drug use.

"In the first instances, it was a real shock and then as things gathered pace in terms of other stories that came to light, it was really, really hard," Coote said.

"In that moment and in those first days, they were really dark because I felt embarrassed and ashamed at what I've done over the course of time. The situation that I found myself in meant that I really had to rely on people's support to get me through.

"Otherwise, genuinely, I don't know that I'd be here."

Asked what he meant by that, Coote explained: "In that first week, I had suicidal thoughts and I didn't get close to acting on those, but at that time, that was really tough and a lot of people reached out to me on a frequent basis because they were concerned about my welfare.

"A lot of things that I really regret either doing or saying all came to light in the space of a week or so, when in fact, a lot of them were over the course of four or five years ago. In my head, I'd put them to bed and forgotten they even existed.

"To then find myself facing what they were just reignited some really difficult times and some really tough thoughts."

Coote also spoke about his regret over his comments referencing Klopp's German nationality in the video, and said he understands if he never referees again.

"I accepted my fate immediately, with the PGMOL as well," he said.

"I want to take ownership of my actions. I think that's important. I want to apologise to those who are offended by what I said and were offended but I want to now try and live my life to the values that are truly me and to the best of my ability moving forward."