Former Premier League Referee David Coote Pleads Not Guilty to Child Exploitation Charge

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Former Premier League referee David Coote has appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to charges of making an indecent image of a child.

The 43-year-old appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday in relation to a video recovered by police in February. During the brief 18-minute hearing, Coote, dressed in a navy suit, spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and to enter his plea.

The charge relates to the creation, downloading, sharing, or saving of indecent images or videos involving children. Coote was granted conditional bail by District Judge Gillian Young and was instructed to appear at Nottingham Crown Court on October 9.

Coote, who was sacked from his officiating role in December, previously faced public scrutiny after a video surfaced in which he made derogatory remarks about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in 2020. He was also banned by UEFA from officiating until June 2026 following a separate incident in Germany during Euro 2024, where he was filmed snorting a white powder through a banknote.

In January, Coote publicly came out as gay and acknowledged that his struggle to hide his sexuality had influenced some of his past decisions.