Former Premier League referee given suspended prison sentence for indecent image

Referee David Coote reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton and Brentford, at White Hart Lane Stadium in London, England, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

NOTTINGHAM, England — Former Premier League referee David Coote was given a suspended prison sentence on Thursday for having a sexual video of a minor on his laptop.

Coote previously pleaded guilty to making an indecent moving image of a child of the most serious kind, Britain’s Press Association reported.

He was sentenced to nine months, which was suspended for two years, at Nottingham Crown Court.

Coote’s electronic devices were seized by police last February and the video of the 15-year-old boy in school uniform from Jan. 2, 2020, was found on the hard drive of the former referee’s laptop.

“You have had a spectacular fall from grace,” judge Nirmal Shant told the 43-year-old Coote, whose arms and hands trembled as a sentence was handed down, PA news reported.

Coote was granted access to an area normally reserved for witnesses before leaving the court building via a private exit marked “probation liaison office.” He did not speak when asked if he had any comment to make.

Coote’s barrister, Laura Jane Miller, said he was “deeply ashamed of himself and his actions.”

“For the last six years, Mr Coote has faced intensive media scrutiny,” she told the court. “He has shown remorse for this offending to the probation service.”

The video was found after a separate investigation into remarks Coote made about former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp in 2020.

Coote was banned for eight weeks and ordered to take a face-to-face education program for making offensive comments about Klopp in a private video that ended up being widely circulated on social media, leading to the match official getting fired.

Coote was initially suspended for his conduct and then sacked because his position was deemed “untenable” by English soccer’s referees body following an investigation into his conduct.

Coote was also investigated by the Football Association following allegations in British newspaper The Sun that he discussed with a fan the possibility of giving a yellow card to a player in a match. Coote denied any wrongdoing and the FA said in June that no charges were issued in relation to that investigation.

Separately, UEFA launched an investigation into Coote following a video, again published by The Sun, allegedly showing him using cocaine during the European Championship in 2024.

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The Associated Press