Former Premier League referee David Coote has been handed a suspended prison sentence after admitting to possessing an indecent video of a 15-year-old boy. The 43-year-old pleaded guilty to making a category A moving image of a child, the most serious classification, at Nottingham Crown Court.
The court heard that the two-minute and 11-second video, found on Coote's laptop, showed the schoolboy undressing and performing sexual acts. Judge Shant described the case as a 'spectacular fall from grace' for the former official, who was sacked by Professional Game Match Officials Limited in December 2024 after an unrelated video emerged criticising then-Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.
Police seized Coote's devices in February 2025 following media investigations into his conduct. They discovered he had transferred the video from a hard drive to his laptop on 2 January 2020. Coote's defence lawyer, Laura Jane Miller, said he was dealing with personal and mental health difficulties at the time and was 'deeply ashamed by his actions'.
In addition to a suspended sentence, Coote was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, restricting his contact with children and where he can live. He was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. Judge Shant emphasised that such offences involve real children being abused, with lasting damage.
Coote left the court via a private exit, declining to comment on the sentence.
