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Disgraced former referee David Coote – who this week pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a 15-year-old boy – was investigated and cleared in 2017 following an allegation that he possessed an indecent image.
The 43-year-old, who faces up to 10 years in prison, was the subject of a probe by refs’ body PGMO, the FA and police eight years ago.
According to Telegraph Sport, who first reported the story, a PGMO staff member and former referee reported Coote after learning of the allegation from a third party.
He put the matter to Coote on the phone and subsequently informed then boss Mike Riley. The complaint was then passed to the FA and the police. The police investigated and decided to take no action after the image in question was analysed by a specialist.
In August 2017, Coote – who then primarily refereed in the Championship and resided in west Yorkshire, was taken off the officiating list. He returned a few weeks later and within a year had been promoted to oversee Premier League matches.
He was also asked to give a talk to a junior referees conference in 2018, at an event organised by the FA.
David Coote arrived at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, where he pleaded guilty to making an incident image of a child - he was the subject of a probe eight years ago
Coote, left, admitted making a category A image, the most serious kind, which was recovered by police in February
In 2023, Coote was chosen to referee the League Cup final and was a VAR at last summer’s Euros.
Last November, he was the subject of an expose by The Sun, who obtained a series of videos showing him making offensive comments about ex-Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and appearing to inhale a white powder.
In a subsequent interview he said he was gay and had been scared to make his sexuality public. In September, Coote was charged by Nottinghamshire Police with making an indecent image of a child after police found a category A video – the most serious classification – was found to have been accessed on his laptop.
He pleaded not guilty to the allegation at Magistrates Court before changing his plea on Tuesday at Nottingham Crown Court. The maximum sentence for the offence is 10 years. Coote will learn his sentence in December.
Following his plea, he was made liable to the notification requirements of the Sex Offender’s Register. How long he will be on the Register for will depend on his sentence.
Judge Nirmal Shant KC warned Coote that he may face custody. ‘As far as you are concerned you have pleaded guilty to a serious matter,’ she said.
‘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.’
Coote was released on conditional bail and told he was not permitted to have contact with a child under the age of 18 or to reside at an address where persons under 18 reside.
