On Tuesday at Nottingham Crown Court, former referee David Coote pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a child and now a separate allegation from 2017 has been reported
Disgraced former Premier League referee David Coote was investigated and cleared by the police in 2017 after it was alleged that he had an indecent image in his possession. Coote, 43, pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a child at Nottingham Crown Court earlier this week, having admitted that he downloaded a video of a 15-year-old boy in January 2020.
Now the Telegraph report that eight years ago, the ex-ref was the subject of an investigation by the referees’ authority – Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) – and the FA over a similar allegation. Coote was cleared of any wrongdoing after a specialist officer deemed that no offence had taken place and no further action was necessary.
Paul Armstrong of AW Law, who is Coote’s lawyer currently, commented: “David was never even spoken to by the police and no criminal charges came from the allegations.”
In August 2017, while Coote was refereeing in the Football League, he was temporarily removed from the officials’ list by PGMOL. No reason for their decision was given.
Coote didn’t officiate matches for a period of time but he returned to his duties a few weeks later. Within 12 months of the allegation, Coote was promoted to take charge of Premier League games.
READ MORE: Ex-Premier League referee David Coote pleads guilty to indecent child image charge in courtREAD MORE: Ex-Premier League ref David Coote’s possible maximum jail term for ‘category A’ child image
The allegation was initially reported to Mike Riley – then the general manager of PGMOL – by a male former referee. They are said to have learned of the allegation from a third party in June 2017 and put it to Coote directly over the phone four days later, telling Coote that he was going to report him.
It is noted that PGMOL staff were obliged to do so, as per the organisation’s integrity policy at the time. The complaint went from Riley to the FA and subsequently to the police.
The Telegraph also report that Coote was chosen to give a talk at a junior referees’ conference in 2018, an event organised by the FA. Both the PGMOL and FA were unable to comment on the 2017 allegations.
Coote’s career progressed over the following years, taking charge of the League Cup final in 2023 before being selected as a video assistant referee at the 2024 European Championship in Germany by UEFA. His reputation was soiled last year when a video of him making derogatory comments about ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in 2020 came to light.
The video was unverified but within a subsequent FA investigation, Coote stated that the video had been taken in his living room in June 2020. He was joined by a friend who he knew from playing cricket.
In December of last year, the PGMOL confirmed that they had terminated Coote’s employment, saying that a thorough investigation concluded he was ‘in serious breach of the provisions of his employment contract, with his position deemed untenable’. Coote, who apologised to Klopp personally, was also banned by UEFA until June 30, 2026.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
