AFCON 2025
Former Premier League referee David Coote has been charged with making an indecent image of a child.
The 43-year-old was charged following an investigation by Nottinghamshire Police into a video file recovered by officers in February.
Coote, from Collingham in Nottinghamshire, was charged on August 12 and is scheduled to appear at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
Coote’s career has recently been marked by a series of high-profile incidents. He was sacked by the referees’ body, PGMOL, in December 2024 after an investigation into a video allegedly showing him making derogatory comments about Liverpool and its former manager, Jurgen Klopp.
The Football Association (FA) had also imposed an eight-week suspension in August for the same comments.
Former Premier League referee David Coote has been charged for making an indecent video of a child, Nottinghamshire Police have confirmed. pic.twitter.com/Tq3B8y4evv
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 10, 2025
Additionally, the former official is banned by UEFA until June 30, 2026, after photographs emerged of him snorting a white powder through a banknote while in Germany for Euro 2024.
According to Nottinghamshire Police, Coote is currently on conditional bail. The force added that the charge of making an indecent photograph relates to actions such as downloading, sharing, and saving material.
