The Former Premier League referee David Coote has been charged with making an indecent image of a child, it emerged on Wednesday.
The charges stem from an investigation carried out by Nottingham Police.
The charge of making an indecent photograph also includes downloading, sharing or saving the offensive material, the police clarified.
Coote was charged on 12 August and is expected to appear before magistrates in the city on Thursday.
Coote is currently on conditional bail, police said.
The 43-year-old former referee was sacked by the referees' body for England, PGMOL, last year after allegedly making derogatory comments about former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp in a video.
He was also subject to an eight-week match suspension by the Football Association (FA) for the comments.
Coote has also been banned by European football's governing body UEFA after photographs emerged of him snorting a white powder through a bank note while he was in Germany for the 2024 Euros.
That ban is set to expire on 30 June next year.
