How much do referees earn in Europe’s Top 5 leagues?

Referees in football have always played a key role but have garnered more attention in recent years. They are tasked with maintaining a fair game, where all the rules are followed properly, along with discipline as well. Over the years, referees have held great power in a game.

There have been some technological introductions as well in recent times to make a referee’s job easier and make decisions more accurate. These include the likes of goal-line technology, VAR, and automated offside systems. However, the VAR has come under immense scrutiny in recent years due to multiple controversial decisions.

Regardless, the referees still play an important role in the game and are paid accordingly. Referee wages across Europe’s top five leagues are substantial and reportedly the highest in the Premier League.

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The referee’s wages are also dependent on the ranking and seniority of the officials across the leagues. On that note, let’s take a look at the referee wages in Europe’s Top 5 leagues, as per The Athletic:

Premier League referee wages revealed

The highest referee wages in the Premier League could go up to £147,258 per annum. They also get further remuneration in match fees and performance-related bonuses.

Senior referees like Anthony Taylor and Michael Oliver referee for around 30 games a season in the Premier League. Hence, they earn around £180,000 per year, excluding bonuses. An important point to note is that they also referee in European competitions and international games.

As per The Athletic, the lowest salary in the English top-flight could go to £73,191 per annum.

La Liga referee wages revealed

La Liga has the referee wages for all the referees, no matter their seniority or experience, which is £124,256. They also earn £4,205 match fees for each match.

So, while the top referees in the Premier League earn much more than their counterparts in La Liga, the Spanish top-flight referees earn more than the others.

Serie A referee wages revealed

Serie A doesn’t have a flat rate for referee wages like La Liga but has a pretty narrow range as compared to the Premier League. It ranges between £76,954 and £77,345.

Ligue 1 referee wages revealed

Ligue 1 also has a narrow range for referee wages, which is between £66,716 and £67,058.

Bundesliga referee wages revealed

Referees in the Bundesliga earn the lowest among Europe’s top five leagues but have a more varied range than Serie A and Ligue 1. It goes from £52,977 to £70,067.

Apart from Europe’s top five leagues, the Major League Soccer referees also earn a fair amount. They would be third on the aforementioned list, with a range of £98,822 to £130,422.

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