Coote started refereeing as a sixteen-year-old. He refereed in the
Notts Alliance League, the
Northern Counties East Football League, the
Northern Premier League and the
Conference North before being promoted to the
Football League list of referees as an assistant referee. His first game in this role came in a
League Two game between
Stockport County and
Hereford United. He was promoted to the list of Football League referees in 2010. In May 2014, Coote was the referee for the
2014 League One play-off final at
Wembley Stadium between
Leyton Orient and
Rotherham United. Coote officiated his first
Premier League game between
Newcastle United and
West Bromwich Albion on 28 April 2018, a game which ended as a 1–0 victory to West Brom. Ahead of the
2018–19 season, Coote was promoted to Select Group 1. Coote was appointed to officiate the
2023 EFL Cup final between
Manchester United and
Newcastle United on 14 February 2023, which Manchester United went on to win 2–0.
Video incident and suspension On 11 November 2024, Coote was suspended by
PGMOL after video footage emerged in which he made derogatory comments about
Liverpool and described
Jürgen Klopp as "arrogant" and a "
cunt". According to
The Guardian, the "video appears to date from the 2020–21 season". Having watched the footage of the tackle, Coote did not call for any action on Pickford, instead focusing on a marginal offside in the buildup to the collision. Coote initially claimed that the video footage of his comments was not real; however, he later admitted that it was genuine. On 13 November, another video emerged allegedly showing Coote snorting a white powder, believed to be
cocaine, during
Euro 2024, leading to Coote being suspended by
UEFA. The Football Association was also investigating Coote for possible
match fixing. Allegedly, Coote had prearranged to hand out a yellow card during the
Championship game between
Leeds United and
West Brom in October 2019, in order to benefit a friend through betting. Coote denied any wrongdoing. On 9 December, the investigation concluded and Coote was sacked with immediate effect. In February 2025, Coote was banned by UEFA. ==Personal life==