Sacked referee Coote denies indecent child image charge

Former Premier League referee David Coote has pleaded not guilty to a charge of making an indecent image of a child.

The 43-year-old was charged on 12 August following an investigation by Nottinghamshire Police.

The force said the allegation related to a video file recovered by officers in February.

He spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and enter his plea during the 18-minute hearing.

Mr Coote was granted conditional bail and is due to appear at Nottingham Crown Court on 9 October.

The charge of making an indecent image of a child refers to activities such as downloading, sharing or saving abuse photos or videos.

Mr Coote was sacked by the Professional Game Match Officals Limited (PGMOL) in December after a video of comments he made about former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp in 2020 came to light.