Former Premier League referee David Coote has pleaded not guilty to making an indecent image of a child.
The ex-official appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday charged over allegations relating to a video recovered by officers in February.
The 43-year-old, who wore a navy suit, sat at the back of the court room and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and to enter his plea during the 18-minute long hearing.
The charge of making an indecent image of a child refers to activities such as downloading, sharing or saving abuse photos or videos.
The allegation relates to a video recovered by officers from Nottinghamshire Police in February before Coote was charged on August 12, the force said.
The former referee, of Woodhill Road in Collingham, near Newark, Nottinghamshire, was granted conditional bail by District Judge Gillian Young and was told to appear at Nottingham Crown Court for a further hearing on October 9.
Coote was sacked by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in December, after a video of comments he had made about ex-Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp in 2020 came to light.
In August this year he was given an eight-week suspension by the Football Association over the Klopp footage.
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 the rant about Klopp.
