Ex-Premier League referee David Coote avoids jail over sex video of boy, 15, in school uniform | OneFootball

Disgraced Coote, 43, has been sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court for making an indecent image of a child

Former Premier League referee David Coote has been handed a suspended prison sentence after a sexual video of a 15-year-old schoolboy was found on his laptop.

The court heard Coote’s electronic devices were seized by police in February last year, and the video of the schoolboy from January 2, 2020, was found on the hard drive of his Dell laptop.

Prosecutors said the two minute, 11 second-video showed the boy undress until he was completely naked before performing sexual acts on himself.

Coote, of Collingham, near Newark, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty in October to making a category A indecent moving image of a child, the most serious kind.

David Coote arrives for his sentencing

Action Images via Reuters

He was given a nine month prison sentence suspended for two years.

The court heard the former referee answered no comment to relevant questions in police interview in February last year, and was cautioned after officers found cocaine in his house in the same month.

Prosecutor Jeremy Janes said the offence of making a category A image can lead to a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

Coote was sacked by Professional Game Match Officials Limited in December 2024 after a video of comments he had made about Klopp came to light.

In August last year he was given an eight-week suspension by the Football Association over the rant about the former Liverpool manager.

In January, Coote came out as gay in an interview with The Sun and said a lifelong struggle to hide his sexuality had contributed to his Klopp comments.