Ex-referee David Coote sentenced over child image offence
David Coote received a nine-month prison sentence suspended for two years and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order after a Category A child abuse video was found on his devices.
- On Thursday at Nottingham Crown Court, former Premier League referee David Coote was sentenced to a nine-month prison term, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work plus a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
- The image surfaced after an FA inquiry, when police seized devices in February last year and forensic analysis found the clip on David Coote's laptop dated January 2, 2020.
- Prosecutors described the clip as lasting two minutes and 11 seconds and showing the 15-year-old boy undress from his uniform until completely naked before performing sexual acts.
- PGMOL terminated Coote's contract in December 2024, and UEFA barred him from European assignments until June 30, 2026 after a separate video emerged.
- His barrister, Laura Jane Miller, told the court he had mental health struggles dating back to 2017, cocaine use commencing around 2019, and has shown remorse since his February 2025 arrest; a pre-sentence report found a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.
63 Articles
63 Articles
David Coote again gives what to talk about, pitifully not because of his arbitration work but because of a painful incident that will have him behind bars for nine months. Yes, the Premier League referee who insulted Jürgen Klopp was sent to prison for possessing an indecent content of a minor. David Coote’s name again hoards sports spaces, the Premier League referee who was suspended for insulting Jürgen Klopp, then Liverpool coach, and now app…
Former Premier League soccer referee David Coote was on Thursday given a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to a charge of making an indecent image of a child.
At the 2024 European Football Championship, the Englishman David Coote was in the team of the impartials. Afterwards, one scandal followed the other. Now the referee is sentenced to a probation sentence.
On the laptop of the former English Premier League judge David Coote, child pornographic material is found. After a short time, the 43-year-old admits the allegations.
The former 43-year-old English arbitrator was sentenced by a court in Nottingham (central England) to 9 months' suspended imprisonment.
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