Ex-Premier League referee David Coote arrives at court for sentencing after former official pleaded guilty to making ‘category A’ indecent image of a child

Disgraced referee David Coote has arrived at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday morning to learn of his sentence after pleading guilty to making an indecent image of a child.

The 43-year-old, from Newark, had previously admitted making one indecent image of a child of ‘category A’ on January 2, 2020.

Category A is the most serious of the categories and the charge relates to acts such as downloading, sharing and saving material. It carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in custody.

He was due to be sentenced on December 11, 2025 but his barrister was unable to attend in person, meaning it got delayed by a month.

The former Premier League official was pictured arriving to court around 9am.

Coote pleaded guilty in October and has seen been made subject to the notification requirements of the Sex Offender’s Register. How long he will be on the Register for will depend on his sentence.

The 43-year-old had previously admitted making one indecent image of a child of ‘category A’ on January 2, 2020

Coote could face 10 years in prison – with Category A the most serious of the categories

Ahead of Thursday’s sentencing, Coote has been on conditional bail and not permitted to have contact with a child under the age of 18 or to reside at an address where persons under 18 reside.

He has also been made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, which restricts his activities.

Following Coote’s plea Judge Nirmal Shant KC warned him that he may face custody: ‘As far as you are concerned you have pleaded guilty to a serious matter. 

‘Whether custody or not will be decided when all the information is before the court.

‘You mustn’t go away with impression that this automatically means a non-custodial sentence – it doesn’t.’

The matter initially came to the police’s attention following the FA’s investigation into Coote, which saw mobile phones had been examined by a third party. 

The Crown Prosecution said that two conversations found on the device ‘appeared to indicate Mr Coote had a sexual interest in children’.

An investigation was launched and Coote was subsequently arrested at his home address. 

The former Premier League referee was sacked in December 2024 after a video emerged of him making disparaging remarks about ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp

A PGMOL-registered Dell laptop was subsequently seized and a Category A video, featuring moving image of a child aged 15 was found and was accessed on the date referenced in the charge.

Coote, a top-flight and international mainstay, was sacked in December 2024 after a video emerged of him making disparaging remarks about ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

In June, he was charged by the Football Association over the comments, having labelled the former Liverpool boss a ‘German ****’ in the video.

In February 2025 he was banned by UEFA after a video emerged of him appearing to snort white powder in a hotel room while on duty at Euro 2024 in Germany.