David Coote avoids prison after ex-Premier League referee pleaded guilty to making indecent image of a child

The 43-year-old was charged on August 12 last year following an investigation by Nottinghamshire Police.

It comes after he was sacked by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in December 2024 for a leaked online tirade against former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

The maximum sentence carried three years, but Coote received significantly less.

He pleaded guilty to creating a category A video of a 15-year-old boy in January 2020.

Category A is the most serious classification.

The two-minute, 11-second video showed the boy take off his school uniform until he was completely naked, Nottingham Crown Court heard.

The video then showed the teen performing sex acts on himself, prosecutor Jeremy Janes said.

Coote's "sexual attraction" to minors was unveiled after the FA launched an investigation into the former referee.

An independent probe examined two mobile phones, in which "conversations of concern" were flagged.

Coote was arrested when the disturbing video was discovered on a Dell laptop, last accessed on January 2, 2020.

Addressing Coote ahead of sentencing him, Judge Nirmal Shant said: "David Coote, you have had a spectacular fall from grace."

She told him the starting point for such an offence is one year imprisonment, with the range between 26 weeks and three years.

Judge Shant added: "You came to the attention of police following an investigation into your conduct while being employed as a professional referee.

"You had been filmed making comments [about] the then Liverpool Football Club manager.

"The present allegations are unrelated to that but they did lead to the police coming to your home in February last year.

They added: "They found a laptop and a hard drive [which had] been connected to the laptop on January 2.

"At the time you told police they would find cocaine that you had for your personal use - you have been cautioned for that."

She told Coote this kind of offence involves "a real child being abused with all the damage that flows from it".

Prosecutor Jeremy Janes said of Coote: "This all came to light following an investigation into his conduct whilst employed as a professional referee by the Football Association."

The court was told Coote "went viral" after being filmed making comments about the then-Liverpool FC manager, prompting a wider investigation.

As a result, Coote’s electronic devices were seized and analysed by the police in February 2025, the court heard.

Prosecutor Janes also said: "The defendant is 43 years of age and has no previous convictions. He was cautioned in 2025 for possession of cocaine that was recovered.

"The starting point in the sentencing guidelines for making of a category A image is 12 months with a range of 26 weeks to three years. The offence is aggravated by it being a moving image lasting, as I have indicated, over two minutes.”

In mitigation, David Coote’s defence barrister Laura Jane Miller said he is “deeply ashamed of himself and his actions”.

She said: "This offence took place, looking at the date the image was downloaded and last accessed, on January 2 2020, which is some six years ago.”

She told the court Coote’s “outward persona of a very successful football referee” did not "accurately reflect him as a person because there was an internal struggle in terms of personal difficulties”.

Ms Miller said his mental health problems date back to when his relationship broke down in 2017, adding that he has lost his career and reputation “in the midst of media scrutiny”.

She added: “For the last six years, Mr Coote has faced intensive media scrutiny. He has shown remorse for this offending to the probation service. He said he’s deeply ashamed of himself and his actions. He has not taken cocaine since his arrest in 2025 some 11 months ago."

Coote has also been ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work in the community and received a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, meaning he will restrict his "contact and communication with children", and where he is allowed to reside.

Coote refused to comment as he left Nottingham Crown Court.

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