Former Premier League referee David Coote has pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children at Nottingham Crown Court. The former official appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday, October 14, charged with making indecent images of children.
The sacked referee admitted making the most serious category A images and police recovered the images in February. The Newark-born man had pleaded not guilty at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on September 11, but his plea was later changed to guilty.
He appeared in court wearing a navy suit and black tie and spoke only to confirm his name and state his plea to Judge Nirmal Shanto KC. Mr Coote was granted conditional bail and told he must appear in court again on December 11.
Mr Justice Shant also ruled that a pre-sentence report must be carried out before sentencing. Justice Chant, who informed Coote of this, said: “You have pleaded guilty to a serious matter.
“Whether this means detention will be determined when all the information is presented to the court. That is why I have ordered a pre-sentence report.”
Earlier this year, Coote was arrested at his home before being charged by Nottinghamshire Police on August 12. At a hearing last month, prosecutor Ben Payne said the matter had been reported to police following an investigation into Coote by the FA and a third party examining his mobile phone.
Couto was sacked by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in December last year after a video surfaced in which he made abusive comments about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. He was heard describing Klopp as a “German bastard”.
In August, he was suspended for eight weeks by the Football Association for his comments. Mr Coote, 43, said work pressures contributed to the behavior that led to his dismissal from PGMOL last year.
In June this year, a video of Couto delivering a package to the delivery company Every was discovered on his personal doorbell camera and uploaded to social media. Coote is a top official in the Premier League and took charge of his first match in April 2018.
He also played in numerous tournaments, including the 2024 European Championship.
