Former Premier League referee David Coote has pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a child, following an investigation that uncovered a Category A video, the most serious classification of child abuse material.
The 43-year-old, from Collingham, Nottinghamshire, appeared before Nottingham Crown Court, where the charge related to a video found by police in February. Prosecutors told the court that Coote had copied the video from a hard drive to a laptop on 2 January 2020.
Judge Nirmal Shant KC granted Coote conditional bail until his sentencing on 11 December, ordering a pre-sentence report to be completed beforehand.
“You have pleaded guilty to a serious matter,” the judge said. “Whether this leads to custody or not will be decided once the full information is available.”
Coote had initially denied the allegation during a previous hearing at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court in September but changed his plea during Monday’s brief appearance. Wearing a navy suit and black tie, he spoke only to confirm his identity and plea.
The judge cautioned Coote that a prison term remained a strong possibility, telling him:
“You must not go away with the impression that this will not lead to a custodial sentence.”
Coote’s legal troubles come after he was dismissed from his refereeing role in 2024, following the emergence of a video from 2020 in which he made remarks about former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.
In August this year, the Football Association imposed an eight-week suspension on Coote related to that footage.
The offence of making an indecent image of a child includes downloading, saving, or sharing explicit images or videos depicting abuse.
