The referees in charge of the biggest league in the world are becoming stars in their own right – with their faces instantly recognisable to millions of Premier League fans across the world. But how much do Premier League referees such as Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor get paid?
Premier League referees are given a regular wage on top of match fees for every game they are assigned. According to Goal, referees are given a salary of between £38,500 and £42,000 – which varies based on experience. Referees are then given an extra £1,150 for matches they are put in charge of, which means that a Premier League referee can earn up to £70,000 per year. In comparison, referees in the Championship are given the same regular wage but only earn £600 for games. In the lower leagues of English football, referees are given a match fee of around £80 as well as expenses incurred through hotels and travel. And at the grassroots level, amateur referees typically earn between £20 to £40 per game.
While English football referees get a salary, Europe’s biggest leagues forgo a regular wage and instead pay on a match-by-match basis. In Spain, referees are paid roughly £5,200 per match, which means that referees in charge of La Liga games can earn well over £140,000 per year. In Germany, Bundesliga referees are given £3,150 per match, whereas Italian referees in their famous yellow shirts are awarded £3,000 for taking charge of Serie A games. French referees in Ligue 1 are given £2,400 per match, while counterparts in Portugal are given just £1,000 for every match they are in the middle.
Source: Metro