Former Premier League referee David Coote has pleaded guilty at Nottingham Crown Court to making an indecent image of a child.
Last month, the 43-year-old was charged with making an indecent image of a child. According to Nottinghamshire police, the charge is of the most serious Category A offence and relates to a video recovered by officers in February.
The charge of making an indecent image of a child refers to activities such as downloading, sharing or saving abuse photos or videos. Images which are classified Category A customarily show children involved in ‘penetrative sexual activity’, according to Sentencing Council guidelines.
Coote who wore a navy suit and black tie at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday morning, spoke only to confirm his name and enter his plea during the hearing in front of Judge Nirmal Shant KC.
The former referee, of Woodhill Road in Collingham, near Newark, Nottinghamshire, was granted conditional bail by Judge Shant and told he must appear in court again on December 11.
Get personalised football updates every day
Sign up to our daily football newsletter and choose your team to get the latest news, rumours and more about your favourite team.
Coote was sacked by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) last December after a video of abusive comments he had made about former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp in 2020 emerged on social media.
He was also banned by European football’s governing body UEFA until June 30, 2026 after a different video emerged of him snorting a white powder through a bank note while in Germany for Euro 2024.
In January, Coote came out as gay and said a lifelong struggle to hide his sexuality had contributed to the rant about Klopp and his apparent drug use.
In August, he was also given an eight-week suspension by the Football Association over the Klopp footage.
More to follow…
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
No comments:
Post a Comment