At Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday, former referee David Coote pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children, but this time he faces a different charge from 2017.
Disgraced former Premier League referee David Coote was investigated by police in 2017 on suspicion of possessing indecent images and was acquitted. Coote, 43, 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 now reports that eight years ago, the former referee was the subject of an investigation by refereeing authority Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and the FA over similar allegations. Mr Coote was cleared of any wrongdoing after a specialist determined that no offense had been committed and no further action was necessary.
Coote’s current lawyer, Paul Armstrong of AW Law Firm, said in a statement: “David has never been spoken to by the police and no criminal charges have been brought against him in connection with this allegation.”
In August 2017, Coote was temporarily removed from the official list by PGMOL while he was a referee in the Football League. The reasons for their decision were not disclosed.
Coote did not officiate games for a period of time, but returned to his duties a few weeks later. Within 12 months of the accusations, Coote was promoted to head of matches in the Premier League.
read more: Former Premier League referee David Coote pleads guilty to child indecent image charges in courtread more: Former Premier League referee David Coote faces maximum prison sentence for ‘Category A’ child image
The allegations were initially reported to Mike Riley, then general manager of PGMOL, by a former referee. The pair are said to have learned of the allegations from a third party in June 2017 and four days later called Mr Couto directly to tell him they intended to report the matter.
Please note that PGMOL staff were obliged to do so in accordance with the organization’s integrity policy at the time. A complaint was sent by Riley to the FA, who then sent it to the police.
The Telegraph also reported that Coote had been chosen 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 progressed over the next few years, and after officiating the 2023 League Cup final, he was selected by UEFA to be the video assistant referee for the 2024 European Championship in Germany. His reputation was tarnished last year when a video surfaced of him making derogatory comments about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in 2020.
The video was unconfirmed, but during a subsequent FA investigation, Coote said the video was filmed in his living room in June 2020. He was joined by friends he knew from his time playing cricket.
In December last year, PGMOL confirmed that it had terminated Mr Couto’s employment, saying that after a thorough investigation, it had concluded that he was in “material breach of the terms of his employment contract and his position is considered unsustainable”. Couto, who personally apologized to Klopp, was also suspended by UEFA until June 30, 2026.
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