David Coote, the disgraced former Premier League referee, was investigated and cleared by the police in 2017 following allegations of possessing an indecent image. The 43-year-old ex-referee pleaded guilty to creating an indecent image of a child at Nottingham Crown Court earlier this week, admitting that he downloaded a video of a 15-year-old boy in January 2020.
The Telegraph has now reported that eight years ago, Coote was under investigation by the referees’ authority – Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) – and the FA over a similar allegation. After a specialist officer determined that no offence had occurred, Coote was cleared of any wrongdoing and no further action was deemed necessary.
Paul Armstrong of AW Law, who is currently representing Coote, said: “David was never even spoken to by the police and no criminal charges came from the allegations.”
The accusation was initially brought to the attention of Mike Riley – then the general manager of PGMOL – by a former male referee. The allegation, which came from a third party in June 2017, was directly addressed to Coote over the phone four days later, with the informant telling Coote that he intended to report him.
PGMOL staff were required to do so, according to the organisation’s integrity policy at the time. The complaint was passed from Riley to the FA and subsequently to the police.
The Telegraph also reports that Coote was selected to speak at a junior referees’ conference in 2018, an event organised by the FA. Both the PGMOL and FA were unable to comment on the 2017 allegations.
Coote’s career continued to advance in the following years, culminating in his appointment as the referee for the League Cup final in 2023 and his selection as a video assistant referee at the 2024 European Championship in Germany by UEFA.
However, his reputation was left in tatters last year when a video surfaced showing him making derogatory comments about ex-Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp in 2020.
Although the video was unverified, Coote stated during a subsequent FA investigation that the video was filmed in his living room in June 2020. He was accompanied by a friend whom he knew from playing cricket.
Last December, the PGMOL announced they had terminated Coote, stating that an exhaustive investigation found him to be ‘in serious breach of the provisions of his employment contract, with his position deemed untenable’. Coote, who personally apologised to Klopp, was also slapped with a UEFA ban until June 30, 2026.