Ex-Premier League ref David Coote's possible maximum jail term for 'category A' child image

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Former Premier League referee David Coote could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a child. The 43-year-old appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday after he was charged last month following an investigation by Nottinghamshire Police.

Coote originally pleaded not guilty to the charge in August during his first court appearance but changed his plea. He was granted conditional bail by Judge Nirmal Shant KC and told he must appear in court again on December 11.

The former top-flight and FIFA official was told by the judge that she was ordering a pre-sentence report to be carried out before he was to be sentenced. She said: “You have pleaded guilty to a serious matter.

"Whether this means custody or not will be decided when all the information is before the court, which is why I have ordered a pre-sentence report.”

The charge Coote has pleaded guilty to carries a maximum five-year prison sentence as per section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, which states that five years of imprisonment can be handed out for the possession of indecent photographs or psuedo photographs of children.

The offence, however, can also range from community service to a three-year custodial sentence.

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Last December, Coote was sacked by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) after a video of comments he made about former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp in 2020 surfaced.

The video was unverified, but in the FA investigation, Coote stated that the video had been taken in his living room in June 2020 with a friend he knew from playing cricket.

During the investigation, Coote said that his words did not reflect his true feelings towards the ex-Liverpool boss, stating he does have a "deep professional respect".

The former referee also apologised to Klopp personally. The PGMOL confirmed that they had terminated Coote's employment in December, in which they said that a thorough investigation concluded he was "in serious breach of the provisions of his employment contract, with his position deemed untenable".

Coote first refereed a Premier League match in 2018 and worked his way to become an elite official, being in the middle for Manchester United's Carabao Cup final win over Newcastle United in 2023.

The 43-year-old last took charge of a top-flight game in November 2024 when Liverpool beat Aston Villa 2-0.