The former Premier League referee David Coote, who lost his job last year after a series of scandals, has been charged with making an indecent image of a child. According to Nottinghamshire police, the charge is of the most serious Category A offence and relates to a video recovered by officers in February.
The charge of making an indecent image of a child refers to activities such as downloading, sharing or saving abuse photos or videos. Images that are classified Category A customarily show children involved in “penetrative sexual activity”, according to Sentencing Council guidelines.
Coote was charged on 12 August and is on conditional bail. He is due to appear at Nottingham magistrates court on Thursday.
The 43-year-old was sacked by the English refereeing body Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) last December, after a string of revelations emerged related to his off-field behaviour.
One video shared online showed Coote making abusive comments about the then Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp in 2020. A separate clip showed Coote snorting a white powder while in Germany working as an official during the Uefa men’s European Championship in 2024.
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
In January, Coote gave an extensive interview to the Sun in which he came out as gay and said a lifelong struggle to hide his sexuality had contributed to the rant about Klopp and his apparent drug use.
At the start of this season the PGMO’s chief refereeing officer, Howard Webb, in effect ruled out a return to officiating for Coote. “I think it’d be really difficult for David to come back, I’m afraid to say,” Webb said.
In February, Uefa banned Coote from officiating in any of its matches until 30 June 2026. In August, the Football Association suspended Coote over the Klopp footage.
