EPL referee wages: How much do top flight officials earn in a season?

The referees are employed by PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) which is run by managing director Mike Riley - a former Premier League referee himself. There are 17 full-time professional ‘Select Group’ referees in the Premier League, who meet for a training camp twice a
month, where they perform physical and technical training sessions and analyze matches. 

These referees are paid a basic yearly retainer of £38,500 to £42,000 for their Premier League duties, and earn an additional match fee of £1,150 per game. With cup games and potential European fixtures thrown in, top level referees can earn upwards of £70,000 a year. In the 2016/17 season, the likes of Martin Atkinson and Mark Clattenburg reportedly earned as much as £120,000. 

For the Champions League, elite tier referees get a whopping £5,500 per game, with ‘development tier’ referees picking up £3,800, but regular referees just earning £700 per game. Across the rest of Europe’s big leagues, match fees are much higher but there is no basic yearly retainer, making payments much less reliable. La Liga splash out £5,200 per match on referees, while in the Bundesliga officials get £3,150. In Serie A, the refs get £3,000, while in Ligue 1 the match fee is £2,400. The most lucrative earner for a referee can be selection for the World Cup - and according to Brazilian website UOL Esporte - those selected pocketed a massive £52,700 basic fee and then £2,260 per match. 

Back in England’s lower tiers, referees are paid £600 for Championship games - while for semi-professional matches fees are only around £80 plus expenses, and amateur referees get £20-£40 per game depending on regional football associations. 

Source: DailyStar