Former Premier League referee David Cootte pleaded not guilty to a single charge of making one category an obscene image of a child. The 43-year-old appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday morning and faced a hearing.
He was accused of creating one obscene image of a Category A child on January 2, 2020. It is considered the most serious category and usually indicates that young children are raped or sexually abused by adults.
Following the leaked video after Coote was fired by PGMOL last December, he appears to have made some dim-like comments about former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. The former re-return was charged by the free agent earlier this year with the same crime.
Koote was said to have fallen to the free agency rules for “greater violations,” following his comments surrounding Klopp’s nationality. The FA also said Coote would not face any further action on allegations of gambling fraud following a full investigation — he argues he vehemently denied.
Koote was later banned by the European football governing body UEFA after another video appeared showing him smoking white powder. It is allegedly taken to a hotel room when Koot was in Germany at the European Championships last summer.
He broke silence about the issue in January, revealing that he had hidden his sexuality throughout his career.
“I hid my emotions as a young Ref, and I also hid my sexuality. It’s quality as a judge, but awful quality as a human being. It led me to a series of actions.”
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