Disgraced former Premier League referee David Coote was investigated and acquitted by police in 2017 on suspicion of possessing indecent images. The 43-year-old former referee pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children at Nottingham Crown Court earlier this week, admitting downloading a video of a 15-year-old boy in January 2020.
The Telegraph has now reported that Coote was investigated by refereeing bodies Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and the FA over similar charges eight years ago. Mr Couto was cleared of wrongdoing and no further action was deemed necessary as specialist police officers determined there had been no violation.
Paul Armstrong of AW Lawyers, who is currently representing Coote, said: “David has never been spoken to by police and no criminal charges have been brought against him in connection with this allegation.”
The accusations were initially brought to the attention of then-PGMOL general manager Mike Riley by a former male referee. The complaint came from a third party in June 2017 and was relayed directly to Coote four days later by phone, with the informant informing Coote that he intended to report the complaint.
PGMOL staff were required to do so in accordance with the organization’s integrity policy at the time. The complaint was passed by Riley to the FA, who then passed it on to the police.
The Telegraph also reported that Coote has been selected to speak at the 2018 Junior Referees Conference, an event organized by the FA. Both PGMOL and the FA were unable to comment on the 2017 allegations.
Couto’s career continued to progress, culminating in his appointment as referee for the 2023 League Cup final and being selected by UEFA as video assistant referee for the 2024 European Championship in Germany.
However, his reputation took a hit last year after a video surfaced in 2020 in which he made derogatory comments about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
The video was unconfirmed, but Couto later told the FA that it was filmed in his living room in June 2020. He was accompanied by a friend who played cricket.
In December last year, PGMOL announced that it had fired Couto, saying that after a thorough investigation, it was determined that he was in “serious breach of the terms of his employment contract and was deemed unable to continue in his position.” Couto, who personally apologized to Klopp, was also suspended by UEFA until June 30, 2026.
