Former Premier League referee David Coote has been handed a nine-month suspended prison sentence for making an indecent image of a child, concluding a dramatic fall from the highest levels of English football.
The 43-year-old stood before Judge Nirmal Shant KC at Nottingham Crown Court, where he learned his fate for a Category A offence, the most severe classification for child sexual abuse material. “You have had a spectacular fall from grace,” the judge told Coote, whose arms and hands trembled as the sentence was delivered.
The court heard that police discovered a two-minute, eleven-second video on a hard drive at Coote’s home in February of last year, a development stemming from a separate investigation into his conduct. Prosecuting attorney Jeremy Janes detailed that the video, last accessed in January 2020, depicted a 15-year-old boy in school uniform undressing and performing sexual acts.
There is no suggestion Coote was involved in the video’s production, but the charge of “making” an indecent image relates to its downloading and saving. “Videos such as the one Coote had downloaded involve a real child being abused,” Judge Shant remarked, adding that viewers of such material should consider the “consequent damage that follows from it”.
Coote’s defence lawyer, Laura Jane Miller, told the court her client was “deeply ashamed” and had been struggling with his mental health and consuming cocaine at the time of the offence. “He has lost his career, and he has lost his reputation, and those have been lost in the midst of… intense media scrutiny,” Miller argued.
Judge Shant acknowledged these personal difficulties but noted, “Some might say he has brought it on himself”. Alongside the suspended sentence, Coote was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
The criminal conviction is the final chapter in a series of controversies that destroyed Coote’s career. His downfall began publicly in November 2024 when a video surfaced on social media showing him calling former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp “f***ing arrogant” and using a slur.
A subsequent video allegedly showed Coote using cocaine during the Euro 2024 tournament. After an investigation by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), his contract was terminated in December 2024, with the body stating his actions represented a “serious breach” and his position was “untenable”.
He later received an eight-week suspension from the Football Association for the Klopp comments and a 16-month ban from UEFA for bringing football into disrepute.
This case also brings into focus the broader pressures and scrutiny facing football officials. While Coote’s actions are distinct and criminal, the intense environment is mirrored in other ongoing crises, such as the Turkish Football Federation’s recent revelation that 371 of its 571 active match officials held betting accounts, a violation of FIFA’s strict ethics code.
These parallel situations highlight global challenges to the integrity and reputation of officiating. For Coote, the legal proceedings are now complete. Having pleaded not guilty initially in September, he changed his plea to guilty at a pre-trial hearing in October.
His journey from officiating top-flight matches to his conviction marks a profound and cautionary collapse, underscored by the judge’s decisive words on his spectacular fall from grace.