Nottingham, UK (AP) – Former Premier League referee David Coote He pleaded not guilty on Thursday to creating indecent imagery of a child.
Coote, who was fired last year by an organisation administering the British judge for a disrespectful remark about former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, appeared in the courtroom of Magistrate Justice of Peace and was granted conditional bail by District Judge Gillian Young.
Police said Koote was charged on August 12 in connection with video files recovered by officers in February.
Koot, 43, confirmed his name and date of birth and spoke only to enter into his plea at the 18-minute hearing. He was told to appear at Nottingham Crown Court on October 9th for another hearing.
Police say accusations of creating obscene images are related to the downloading, sharing and storing of material.
Koote made headlines last year when a video emerged using expletive and Klopp’s mild rogical terminology for Liverpool. Critics said the comments were not worthy of hosting a Premier League match and were fired in December by professional Game Match Official Limited.
Last month he was given an eight-week suspension by the Football Association over Klopp’s footage.
In January, Koot came out as a gay in an interview with the Sun, saying that his lifelong struggle to hide his sexuality contributed to his rant about Klopp.
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