Premier League referees have been in the spotlight after some controversial calls, but how much do they earn? Do they receive match fees? And are English officials paid more than their European counterparts?

• Referees have come under the spotlight after some controversial decisions
• But how much do officials get paid? Mail Sport takes a look at the figures
• Click HERE to listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s ‘It’s All Kicking Off’

There is no doubt it has been a week of intense scrutiny for referees and Chief Refereeing Officer of the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited), Howard Webb.

The decisions during Tottenham’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool, including what PGMOL described as a ‘significant human error’ when VAR wrongly disallowed Luis Diaz’s goal, have been the talk of the footballing world.

Despite the introduction of VAR for the 2019-20 season, there has been no shortage of controversy in the subsequent years with reaction to matches regularly centred around refereeing performances.

But, in light of all the pressure and scrutiny top flight officials face, how much do they actually earn for their troubles?

Mail Sport takes a look…

Referees have come under heavy scrutiny after some controversial decisions in recent weeks

Chief Refereeing Officer of the PGMOL, Howard Webb, is attempting to improve standards

Referees who are involved in the Premier League are part of the Select Group of officials, which is the top level, and they are therefore paid appropriately. 

They receive a regular wage, which is topped up by match fees for every game they are assigned to.

According to Goal, this base salary ranges from £38,500 to £42,000 dependent on experience, with the most high-profile names such as Anthony Taylor and Michael Oliver likely to be in the higher bracket.

They then receive a match fee of £1,150 which means if a referee officiated 38 Premier League matches in a campaign they could earn upwards of £80,000 per year. 

The likes of Taylor and Oliver are often also seen taking charge of Champions League matches and those in the elite tier of European officials can earn more than £5,500 each match.

However, to be in with a chance of being an ‘elite’ referee, they must have at least five to seven years experience in their national leagues. Officials who are less experienced in the Champions League receive fees ranging from between £700 to £3,800 for matches.

Meanwhile, those who referee Championship fixtures come from what is known as the Select Group 2 of officials.

They receive the same base wage of those in the Select Group of referees but are only paid a match fee of £600.

Referees like Michael Oliver also take charge of Champions League games, for which they receive an extra match fee (pictured – Oliver taking charge of PSG vs Bayern last season)

Officials in charge of Championship games receive £600 match fees (pictured – Sam Allison referees Cardiff City vs Coventry after being promoted to Select Group 2 this season)

Further down the pyramid, officials are awarded a fee of approximately £80, plus travel and hotel expenses, while at grassroots football, referees receive between £20 to £40.

It is slightly different in European leagues where referees tend not to receive a standard wage, but are awarded a larger match fee.

For example, in Spain, officials are paid £5,200 per match, which means salaries upwards of £100,000 over the course of a season is commonplace.

Bundesliga referees tend to receive slightly less at £3,150, according to reports, while those in Serie A are awarded £3,000 per game.

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