FORMER PREMIER LEAGUE REFEREE SENTENCED FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES
January 2025: Former Premier League referee David Coote has avoided immediate custody after being sentenced for offences relating to a sexual video involving a 15-year-old boy.The 43-year-old admitted to making an indecent moving image of a child, an offence classed at the highest level of seriousness under UK law.
The case was dealt with at Nottingham Crown Court, where the judge described Coote’s actions as representing a profound personal and professional collapse from a previously high-profile career in elite football.
As the sentence was delivered, Coote appeared visibly distressed.
The court imposed a nine-month prison term, suspended for a period of two years, meaning he will not go to jail immediately unless he commits further offences or breaches the terms of the order.
Prosecutors outlined that investigators recovered a video lasting just over two minutes from Coote’s Dell laptop.
The footage showed a school-aged boy removing his clothing before carrying out sexual acts on himself.
The court heard that the child depicted was real, not computer-generated, and that such material constitutes direct abuse.
The video was dated 2 January 2020 and came to light after police seized Coote’s electronic devices in February of the previous year.
This seizure followed an unrelated police inquiry into comments Coote had made several years earlier about former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.
During the examination of his devices, officers discovered the illegal content stored on the laptop’s hard drive.
October 2023: In October 2023, a former official made a court appearance concerning allegations linked to a highly serious Category A video that police had recovered in February.
The charge relates to activities like downloading, sharing, or storing illegal images.
During the proceedings, Coote, dressed formally in a navy suit and black tie, only confirmed his name and entered a plea before Judge Nirmal Shant KC.
The judge advised that a pre-sentence report would be prepared to determine his sentencing, emphasizing the seriousness of the case.
The defendant, who lives on Woodhill Road in Collingham near Newark, Nottinghamshire, was granted conditional bail and ordered to return for sentencing on December 11.
Additionally, in 2023, David Coote, known for his role in Premier League refereeing before losing his position amid multiple controversies, faced charges of producing an indecent image of a child.
Nottinghamshire police confirmed that the offence involved a Category A video, linked to activities such as downloading, sharing, or retaining such content—images that depict children engaging in penetrative sexual acts according to sentencing guidelines.
Coote was formally charged on August 12 and remains on conditional bail pending his court appearance at Nottingham magistrates court.
The 43-year-old was dismissed by the Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) last December after several incidents came to light, including an online video where he made abusive remarks about Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp in 2020 and a separate incident where he was seen snorting a white powder during the UEFA European Championship in 2024.
In January, Coote publicly announced he was gay in an interview with The Sun, explaining that a lifelong struggle with his sexuality contributed to his past conduct.
The PGMO’s chief refereeing officer Howard Webb indicated that returning to officiating seems unlikely for Coote, citing the challenge of such a comeback.
UEFA also banned him from officiating until June 2026, and in August, the Football Association suspended him over the Klopp comments.
