Former Premier League Referee David Coote Pleads Guilty to Possessing Indecent Images of Children
LONDON – Former Premier League referee David Coote pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today to making indecent images of children. The 43-year-old entered his plea before Judge Nirmal Shant KC, who has ordered a pre-sentence report before sentencing.
Coote, who wore a navy suit and black tie, spoke only to confirm his name and enter his plea. The charge relates to activities such as downloading, sharing, or saving abuse photos. Judge shant stated,”You have pleaded guilty to a serious matter. Whether this means custody or not will be decided when all the information is before the court, which is why I have ordered a pre-sentence report.”
The former referee, of Woodhill Road in Collingham, Nottinghamshire, was granted conditional bail and is scheduled to return to court on December 11th.
Coote’s career with the Professional game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) ended in December following an eight-week suspension in August stemming from a video surfacing of him making abusive comments about former Liverpool manager jurgen Klopp in 2020. In January, Coote publicly came out as gay in an interview with The Sun, attributing a lifelong struggle with his sexuality as a contributing factor to the earlier rant.
