Former Premier League referee David Coote pleads guilty to making indecent image of child

Former Premier League referee David Coote has pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a child.

The ex-official, 43, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday over an allegation relating to a category A video, the most serious kind, recovered by Nottinghamshire Police in February.

Coote was charged in August with making an indecent image of a child.

The charge of making an image refers to activities such as downloading, sharing, or saving abuse photos.

Coote, who wore a navy suit and black tie, spoke only to confirm his name and enter his plea during the hearing in front of Judge Nirmal Shant KC.

As he stood in the dock with his hands clasped in front of him, he was told by the judge that a pre-sentence report would be carried out before he is sentenced.

Judge Shant said: "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, near Newark, Nottinghamshire, was granted conditional bail and told he must return to court on 11 December.

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Coote was given an eight-week suspension by the Football Association in August after a video emerged of him making abusive comments about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in 2020.

Referees' body, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), confirmed his contract had been terminated in December.

In January, Coote came out as gay in an interview with The Sun and said a lifelong struggle to hide his sexuality had contributed to the rant about Klopp.

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