Record breaking sum referees set to earn at World Cup

How much Prem refs will earn revealed

The refs, of which 52 were selected by FIFA, receive a basic salary for up to six weeks’ work in the first ever 48-team tournament.

As FIFA want to have the best officials in the world in the tournament this summer, the top refs will cash in around double what they were paid for the 2014 World Cup.

However, those who are refereeing the latter stages of the competition will have additional payments on top of it, as Martyn Ziegler from The Times has revealed.

The two representatives from the English Premier League, Anthony Taylor and Michael Oliver, could collect more than £325,000 in total.

In the World Cup, referees could earn as much as £75,000 for the tournament, as per The Times.

That being said, their pay packet will be healthier if their national team does not reach the final.

Since referees are blocked from refereeing their home country, the World Cup final is unsurprisingly the match which carries the biggest bonus.

In addition to Oliver and Taylor, Jarred Gillett, who works in the Premier League, is also at the World Cup as a specialist VAR official.

For refereeing in the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA matches in the Champions League, Oliver and Taylor have already earned around £250,000 this season.

How much a Premier League referee earns

The EFL revealed in 2025 to clubs that the average Premier League referee earns between £170,000 and £180,000 in match fees and bonuses.

Meanwhile, top flight officials are paid a base salary between £72,000 and £148,000 based on experience and seniority.

This is then boosted by performances and match fees, while even junior refs in the Premier League’s Select One category can earn around £125,000-a-year as a starting point.

The changes coming with the World Cup

In order to allow VARs to intervene and disallow goals for a foul by the attacker even before the ball is in play, FIFA have brought in new rules and VAR protocols for refs at the World Cup.

VARs will, for the first time ever, have the power to change the decision on a corner if it has wrongly awarded and to review sendings off caused by a second yellow card.

In the meantime, there is a crackdown on time-wasting to get substitutes to leave the pitch within ten seconds and players will have to stay off the pitch for a whole minute if they go off for treatment.