Former Premier League referee David Coote has pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a child, following a police investigation earlier this year.

The 43-year-old, from Woodhill Road, Collingham, Nottinghamshire, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court in connection with a Category A video — the most serious type of indecent image — discovered by police in February.

During the court hearing, Judge Nirmal Shant KC described the offence as a “serious matter” and confirmed that a pre-sentence report would be prepared ahead of sentencing on 11 December. Coote was granted conditional bail until that date.

“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,” the judge said.

According to prosecutors, Coote extracted the explicit video from a hard drive to a laptop on 2 January 2020. The charge of making an indecent image of a child can cover actions such as downloading, sharing, or saving photos or videos depicting abuse.

Coote had previously pleaded not guilty during an earlier hearing at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on 10 September, but changed his plea during Monday’s appearance. Wearing a navy suit and black tie, he spoke only to confirm his name and enter his guilty plea during the six-minute hearing.

The judge warned Coote not to assume the offence would avoid a custodial sentence, stating:

“You must not go away with the impression that this will not lead to a custodial sentence.”

The former referee was dismissed from his position last year after a separate incident involving a leaked video from 2020 in which he made comments about then Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.

In August 2025, the Football Association handed Coote an eight-week suspension related to that footage.