Sacked ref accused of making indecent image of child
Former Premier League referee David Coote has been charged with making an inappropriate photograph of a child. Mr Coote, 43, was charged after a probe by Nottinghamshire Police. According to the force, the charge was related to a video file that had been confiscated by officers in February.
Mr Coote, a solicitor from Collingham, Nottinghamshire, was charged in Collingham on August 12 and will appear in Nottingham Magistrates' Court on Thursday.
In December 2024, he was fired by the referees' body, PGMOL, following an inquiry into a video allegedly showing him making derogatory remarks about Liverpool and the club's former manager, Jurgen Klopp. In August, the Football Association (FA) banned him for eight weeks due to the remarks. Additionally, the former official was barred by Europe's football governing body, Uefa, until June 30, 2026, after pictures emerged of him snorting a white powder from a banknote while in Germany for Euro 2024.
According to police, Mr Coote is currently on conditional bail. The force also stated that the charge of making an indecent photograph relates to activities such as downloading, uploading, and saving data.
