Premier League referee salaries revealed as officials are controversially blocked from boosting earnings abroad
PREMIER LEAGUE referees’ huge pay packets have been revealed – and show they are among the country’s top earners.
Their salaries appear to reflect their growing status in the game and the increasing pressure they are under every week as billions watch worldwide.
Figures provided by chief refereeing officer Howard Webb in a meeting of the 72 EFL clubs revealed what kind of money the Prem’s officials are pocketing, as reported by The Times.
They showed that the average salary for a Premier League referee it between £170,000 and £180,000.
While the top referees are earning around £250,000 per year.
Officials are paid their salary at a base rate, which is then boosted by performance bonuses and match fees.
That base rate ranges between £72,000 and £148,000, and varies according to experience and seniority in the role.
Senior officials, such as Anthony Taylor and Michael Oliver, are likely to earn around £250,000 a year from their Premier League roles.
While less-experienced refs, identified in ‘Select Group 1’, will earn closer to £125,000.
When pension and national insurance contributions are factored in, it’s understood that the PGMOL averaged a total cost of £240,000 per referee.
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By comparison, the average salary for pilots and air traffic controllers is significantly less at £91,208.
While chief executives (£81,328) , IT directors (£81,588) and specialist medical practitioners’ (£73,320) salaries are all dwarfed by the officials’ pay packets too.
However, top city workers such as those in finance, insurance and lawyers can earn far more than the Prem’s referees.
Officials can boost their earnings outside the Premier League too, with many of the top referees chosen to take charge of Uefa sanctioned games in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
While they can also officiate at Fifa-run events like the Club World Cup and the World Cup proper.
A report last year claimed that referees in the Champions League are paid between £5,300 and £9,000 per game.
And major tournaments like the World Cup have been reported to earn officials between £38,700 and £54,000 – before match bonuses are added.
Outside of those organisations, Premier League officials will find it difficult to boost their incomes.
That’s because the PGMOL have now effectively prevented officials from taking charge of matches in the Gulf states.
The decision came last year, after Michael Oliver, Darren England and Dan Cook officiated a match in the United Arab Emirates less than 48 hours before a shocking VAR mistake in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur last season.
Concerns were voiced around how that looked for the Premier League given Manchester City‘s United Arab Emirates ownership, and Newcastle United‘s links to the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.