Referees may not make a lot of fans like players and coaches do, but officiating in the top competitions seems to guarantee a lucrative compensation. Recently, The Athletic revealed how much Premier League and LaLiga referees make.
The report claims the officials in the English top-flight get paid based on a ranking scale and their years of experience. Depending on that, they can make from £73,191; £105,257 to £147,258.
On top of that, Premier League referees reportedly take home a match fee of £1,116. The payment is different for those in the VAR room, with video assistant referees receiving £837 per game. In addition, the English officials are also understood to get bonuses for their performances and response to key match incidents.
In Spain the average pay is higher, with all LaLiga officials reportedly bagging a fixed salary of £124,256 regardless of ranking or experience. Curiously, they also make more per game than Premier League refs, with a match fee of £4,205.
Referee, Miguel Oritz shows a yellow card to Samu Costa of RCD Mallorca (not pictured) during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Valencia CF and RCD Mallorca at Estadio Mestalla on March 30, 2024 in Valencia, Spain.
VARs in LaLiga also get a bigger reward than in England as they reportedly take home £2,102 per game. Moreover, the Wurth Group sponsor on the refs kits is said to guarantee a £21,929 bonus per year for image rights.
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Comparison with Ligue 1 referees salaries
Weeks before The Athletic‘s report, L’Equipe revealed the figures for the Ligue 1 officials. According to this report, the French referees earn a fixed salary of £6,208 before taxes, which is close to £75,000 a year.
Additionally, they get £2,900 per game officiated in the domestic league, taking home an extra £4,290 for every European match they take charge of. Besides, officiating an international game translates into a match fee of £8,580 for the Ligue 1 refs. The report also claims they get a daily allowance of £515 for meals, travel and hotels over three days.
