Former Premier League referee David Coote has avoided jail as he was sentenced over a sexual video of a schoolboy found on his laptop.
Nottingham Crown Court heard the footage was category A – the most serious kind – and showed a 15-year-old boy in school uniform.
He was sentenced to nine months in prison suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work in the community and was made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
Prosecutors said the clip on his laptop was found after a separate investigation into comments he made about ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Coote, 43, was sacked in December 2024 after a controversial video surfaced showing him making comments about the German football manager.
Coote was charged in February last year with making an indecent image of a child and pleaded guilty in October.
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The charge of making an image refers to activities such as downloading, sharing, or saving abuse photos.
Addressing Coote, Judge Nirmal Shant KC said: “You have had a spectacular fall from grace.
“Those who commit this sort of offence must understand that they involve real children being abused, with all the consequent damage that comes from it.”
Judge Shant told Coote: “You were a lonely man. You had a relationship that had broken down recently.
“You had mental health difficulties and you were consuming cocaine, which of course was your choice, but it had a direct effect on your thinking.”
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