Former international rugby referee Nigel Owens has said he understands why ex-Premier League referee David Coote hid his sexuality over fears of being abused.

“Homophobia remains a problem in all sport”, he said but added it was serious in football with some people making “horrendous” comments online.

Coote, 42, said the pressure of his work contributed to the behaviour that led to his sacking by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in December.

He told the Sun: “I’m gay and I have struggled with feeling proud of being ‘me’ over a long period of time.

Owens, the first openly-gay man to referee in international rugby, told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast he understands from his own experiences how hiding your sexuality was a “very dark and difficult place to be.”

He came out in 2007 and retired from refereeing international matches in 2020

Coote, who officiated more than 100 top-flight games, apologised for the behaviour and asked people to understand it involved “private moments taken during very low times in my life”.

“I have received deeply unpleasant abuse during my career as a ref and to add my sexuality to that would have been really difficult.”

Owens said the fact that Coote felt he could not come out as gay “shows why we still need to have conversations on creating an environment in all sport where people can feel comfortable”.

“Rugby is probably way ahead here and has shown the way. Football has to catch up.”

“When you are struggling with your identity, it’s a very difficult and sometimes very dark place to be in,” Owens said.

“You will go to the extent of trying to deal with those demons and mental health issues in ways we’ve seen David Coote give examples of.”

He said things are much better than in the past, but added there was “still a lot of work to be done”.

“You go on social media today and look at some of the comments regarding David Coote coming out about his sexuality, it’ll still shows there are some horrendous, horrible people out there.

“People wonder why we are still talking about this, why people are still needing to live the lie. You just need to look at some of the comments on there which are totally unbelievable.”

He added that most football and rugby fans are “good people”.

“But there’ll be a minority in all sport that just are homophobic or won’t like you because of your identity.

“I’ve experienced that, but obviously in football the issue is much more serious.”

Owens comments come as police investigate “threats and abuse” directed at referee Michael Oliver following Arsenal’s game against Wolves on Saturday.