Cliff Notes – Ex-Premier League ref David Coote admits child image offense
- David Coote has pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a child, specifically a Category A video, at Nottingham Crown Court.
- The former referee, sacked in December 2024, was granted conditional bail and is scheduled to return to court on December 11 for sentencing considerations.
Ex-Premier League ref David Coote admits child image offense
David Coote was previously a Premier League referee until being sacked in December 2024. Joe Giddens/PA Images via Getty Images
Former Premier League referee David Coote has pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a child.
The ex-official appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday in connection with an allegation relating to a Category A video, the most serious kind, recovered by police in February.
The 43-year-old, who wore a navy suit and black tie, spoke only to confirm his name and enter his plea during the six-minute hearing in front of Judge Nirmal Shant KC.
The former referee, of Woodhill Road in Collingham, near Newark, Nottinghamshire, was granted conditional bail by Judge Shant and told he must appear in court again on Dec. 11.
The judge told Coote, who stood in the dock with his hands clasped in front of him, that she was ordering a pre-sentence report to be carried out before he was to be sentenced.
She said: “You have pleaded guilty to a serious matter. Whether this means custody or not will be decided when all the information is before the court, which is why I have ordered a pre-sentence report.”
Coote was sacked by Professional Game Match Officials Limited in December after a video of comments he had made about ex-Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp in 2020 came to light.
In August this year he was given an eight-week suspension by the Football Association over the Klopp footage.
In January, Coote came out as gay in an interview with The Sun and said a lifelong struggle to hide his sexuality had contributed to the rant about Klopp.