Ex-Premier League referee David Coote pleads not guilty to making an indecent image of a child

Former Premier League referee David Coote has pleaded not guilty to making an indecent image of a child.

The 43-year-old ex-official, from Collingham, appeared at Nottingham Magistrates Court and spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and to enter his plea during the 18-minute hearing.

Coote was granted conditional bail and told to appear at Nottingham Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on 9 October.

He has been charged with a Category A offence, which relates to a video file recovered by officers in February 2025.

Category A is the most serious of the categories.

The charge of making an indecent image of a child refers to activities such as downloading, sharing or saving abuse photos or videos.

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Coote was sacked by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in December 2024 after a video appearing to show Coote making derogatory comments about Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp was widely circulated on social media.

In August this year, he was given an eight-week suspension by the Football Association over the Klopp footage.

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