David Coote, the former referee in the Premier League, has pleaded not guilty to a Category A charge involving the production of an indecent video featuring a child. The 43-year-old from Collingham appeared at Nottingham Magistrates Court on Thursday, where he only confirmed his identity and entered his plea during a brief 18-minute hearing.
Afterward, he was granted conditional bail and is set to appear at Nottingham Crown Court on October 9 for a plea and trial preparation session. The charge against him falls under Category A, which represents the most serious offenses. It relates to a video file that police confiscated in February 2025.
Category A offenses cover severe actions, including downloading, sharing, or saving abusive images or videos of children. Coote’s situation is further complicated by his dismissal from Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in December 2024, following the release of a video that showed him making inappropriate remarks about Liverpool FC and their former manager, Jürgen Klopp.
In August 2025, he received an eight-week suspension from the Football Association due to the aforementioned Klopp video. Additionally, a PGMOL investigation looked into another video that was revealed in November 2024, in which Coote appeared to be using a white powder during Euro 2024, where he served as one of the assistant VARs. This led UEFA, the governing body for European football, to appoint an ethics investigator, ultimately resulting in Coote being banned from all football-related activities until June 30, 2026.
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