Coote then denied fresh allegations against him after the Football Association launched an investigation into claims he had discussed giving Leeds left-back Ezgjan Alioski a yellow card ahead of a match. The official did caution the player, with experts later stating the booking was justified.

Coote was sacked on Monday, December 9 by the PGMOL following a month-long investigation. And he has now spoken out during an emotional interview with The Sun, and admitted he used cocaine as an ‘escape’.

He explained: “I felt a deep sense of shame during my teenage years in particular. I didn’t come out to my parents until I was 21. I didn’t come out to my friends until I was 25.

“My sexuality isn’t the only reason that led me to be in that position. But I’m not telling an authentic story if I don’t say that I’m gay, and that I’ve had real struggles dealing with hiding that.

“I hid my emotions as a young ref and I hid my sexuality as well – a good quality as a referee but a terrible quality as a human being. And that’s led me to a whole course of behaviours.”

He added: “I’ve had issues around my self-esteem – and that relates to my sexuality. I’m gay and I’ve struggled with feeling proud of being ‘me’ over a long period of time.

“I have received deeply unpleasant abuse during my career as a ref and to add my sexuality to that would have been really difficult. There’s a lot to be done throughout football and more widely in society with regard to discrimination.

“I didn’t want to be that person that was putting their head above the parapet to be shot at, given the abuse we all get as a referee in any event.”

And commenting on his cocaine use, he explained: “It’s not something I was reliant on day by day, week by week, month by month.

“I’ve had long periods where I’ve not used it – but it was one of the escape routes I had. Just getting away from the stresses, the relentlessness of the job. It fills me with a huge sense of shame to say that I took that route.”