David Coote, the former Premier League referee, has received a suspended prison sentence after admitting to making an indecent image of a child.
The 43-year-old appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday. He was given a nine-month sentence, suspended for two years. This means he will not go to prison unless he commits another crime in that time. He was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
Judge Nirmal Shant KC told Coote he had experienced a “spectacular fall from grace.” Coote showed no emotion as the sentence was passed.
The court heard that police found a Category A indecent video of a 15-year-old on a hard drive at Coote’s home. A Category A offence is the most serious kind. The video was last accessed in January 2020.
Police began their investigation after an independent company examined two mobile phones. The company found “two conversations of concern” on a messaging app.
Coote first said he was not guilty to the charge at a hearing in September. He changed his plea to guilty at a later hearing in October.
This conviction is the final step in a major fall from professional standing for Coote. He has not refereed a Premier League match since November 2024.
His suspension began that month after a video surfaced online. In it, he used offensive language to describe former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Another video, released later in November 2024, appeared to show Coote snorting a white powder in a hotel room. It was said to have been filmed in July, a day after he worked as a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) official at a Euro 2024 match.
In February 2025, European football body UEFA banned him for 16 months for damaging the reputation of the sport. The English Football Association also gave him an eight-week ban for his comments about Klopp.
Before these bans, his employer, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), had already fired him in December 2024. They said his actions were a serious breach of his contract. PGMOL stated it would continue to support Coote’s welfare.