October 14, (THEWILL) — Former English Premier League referee David Coote has admitted making an indecent image of a child during a hearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday.
The 43-year-old pleaded guilty to the offence after police found a Category A image of a 15-year-old on a hard drive at his home in Newark, Nottinghamshire.
Judge Nirmal Shant warned Coote that imprisonment remained a possibility when sentencing takes place on December 11.
The court heard that the image, classified at the most serious level, was last accessed in January 2020. Coote will be placed on the sex offenders’ register for a period to be determined by his sentence.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited terminated Coote’s contract in December following an investigation.
Prosecutors told an earlier hearing that police became involved after an independent company examined two mobile phones and found “two conversations of concern”.
Bail conditions now prevent Coote from unsupervised contact with anyone under 18.
Coote has not officiated since his suspension in November after a video emerged showing him calling former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp “f***ing arrogant” and a “German c***”. Days later,
The Sun published footage allegedly showing Coote sniffing white powder through a rolled-up American bank note, reportedly filmed the day after the Euro 2024 quarter-final between France and Portugal.
UEFA banned Coote for 16 months in February for “violating the basic rules of decent conduct” and bringing football into disrepute.
The England Football Association imposed an eight-week suspension in August over his comments about Klopp.
Coote had previously pleaded not guilty to the child image charge at a separate hearing last month before changing his plea.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
