A former Premier League referee, David Coote, has been charged with the making of an indecent image of a child, classified as a Category A offence, the most severe category, typically involving content depicting sexual abuse of minors.
The allegations relate to a video discovered by Nottinghamshire Police in February 2025, as part of an ongoing investigation.
Naija News understands that Coote, 43, from Collingham, Nottinghamshire, was formally charged on August 12 and is currently on conditional bail.
He is scheduled to appear at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (September 11).
Once trusted to officiate over 100 Premier League games, Coote was dismissed by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in December 2024 after a leaked video surfaced in which he used vile slurs against former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.
In response, the Football Association (FA) imposed an eight-week suspension and an education programme for aggravating the offence with nationalistic contempt.
Naija News reports that Coote’s troubles deepened with the emergence of a video allegedly showing him snorting a white powder through a bank note at Euro 2024, prompting UEFA to suspend him until June 2026.
In 2025, Coote publicly came out as gay, explaining that years of hiding his sexuality fueled emotional strain and poor decisions, including substance misuse.
Football commentators have called for transparency and mental health support, warning against a “witch hunt” while recognising the professional wreckage surrounding Coote’s career.
Since his fall from grace, Coote has been working as a delivery driver, far removed from his former career at the top of English football officiating.
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