Ex-Premier League referee Coote denies child indecent image charge

Former Premier League referee David Coote pleaded not guilty to making an indecent image of a child at a court hearing on Thursday.

The 43-year-old appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court charged over allegations relating to a video recovered by police in February.

Coote, who wore a navy suit, sat at the back of the court and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and to enter his plea during the 18-minute hearing.

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

The former referee was granted conditional bail by District Judge Gillian Young and was told to appear at Nottingham Crown Court on October 9.

Coote was sacked from his officiating role in December after a video showing him making derogatory remarks about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in 2020 came to light.

He was also banned from officiating by European governing body UEFA until June 2026 after a different video emerged of him snorting a white powder through a bank note while in Germany for Euro 2024.

In a January interview, Coote came out as gay and said his struggle to hide his sexuality had contributed to bad choices.

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