Spanish judges, the highest paid in the world

Spanish judges do not stop talking to people day after day. The First League institution is in the elite of European refereeing and therefore referee salaries are reflected accordingly. However, the fact that League referees have the highest salaries in the world, and by a huge margin, is surprising. Significantly above more powerful competitions with higher revenues, such as the Premier League, or leagues of a similar economic level, such as the Italian Serie A or the French Ligue 1. With the arrival of Luis Rubiales as president of the Spanish Football Federation (FEF) in 2018 and the consequent changes in the Technical Committee of Referees ( CTA), the salaries of Spanish judges increased greatly. It should be recalled that LaLiga is in charge of paying referees’ salaries, despite the fact that this group of institutions is outside the association of club employers and is under the protection of the FEF.

To date, the league has 20 professional referees in the First League. Well, each of them has a fixed salary of 12,500 euros gross per month, regardless of how many times they blow the whistle. Even in the absence of arbitration, either due to injury or by decision of the CTA (the famous ‘refrigerators’), the Spanish judge would collect that amount in full. This fixed salary alone means 137,000 euros gross per year. But that’s just the base salary. Referees in the First League also charge an additional 4,200 euros for each match they officiate on the field. If they do it as VAR, it would be half, 2100 euros. There is a big difference compared to other major leagues.

25,000 euros per month

Referees usually whistle on the pitch between two to three games a month, plus one or two from VAR. One more and the other less, because it depends on other factors such as the number of games or whether they whistled or not in the Cup or European competition. In general, if the referee has this many matches, he would charge about 25,000 euros per month, just in the League.

But the pay doesn’t stop there. Spanish referees who are international and whistle for more competitions have a much higher salary. In the King’s Cup, for example, the salary is identical to that in the league competition: 4,200 euros per game. If they are internationals, they would earn an additional €7,000 for each Champions League match and between €5,000 and €10,000 for each World Cup match, depending on whether it is a group stage or a direct knockout.

For example, this is shown by the data on matches refereed by Mateu Lahoz in 2022. The referee from Valencia refereed, in addition to the League, the Champions League, the World Cup in Qatar, the Europa League, the League of Nations, the Greek Cup and the Saudi Super Cup. Last year alone, Mateu pocketed close to 330,000 euros gross per year. Astronomical number. Last October was his best month, when he refereed four league matches, one in the Champions League and the other as a VAR, leaving a monthly figure of 38,400 euros.

Assistants and VAR

Of course, this salary does not include children, travel expenses and hotels where the members stay. In national competitions, these costs come from the pocket of the CTA, a body belonging to the FEF. The value of these costs, added to the aforementioned annual salary, would greatly exceed 400,000 euros for an elite Spanish judge.

It is not only the head judges who have determined their salary. Also assistant referees, VAR assistants and fourth referees have a certain salary. Line referees have a fixed salary of 6,000 euros per month, and an additional 1,800 per match, while as a VAR assistant the salary would be around 850 euros per match. For his part, the fourth referee in the First League charges 1,000 euros for each attendance at a league match.

Referees, 1,666 per game

The difference in women’s football is considerable, despite the fact that in 2022 an agreement was reached between the FEF and the High Sports Council (CSD) to increase the salaries of female colleagues. In the Women’s First League, head referees earn 1,666 euros per game, while before they earned 300. As for assistants, they were paid from 166 to 1,066 euros per game. Finally, the salary of the fourth referees was increased from 84 to 250 euros per match.

Despite the fact that salaries in the Second League are lower compared to those in the First League, they are very generous compared to the big European leagues. The head referee in the second Spanish league has a fixed salary of 6,000 euros per month.

In addition, as in the First League, they have an additional 1,800 euros per game and 900 euros for each game in VAR. So, the average second league judge who referees two matches and plays another two in VAR, will have a monthly salary of between 10,000 and 12,000 euros, slightly more than the great financial power of the Premier League.

These figures are even more surprising when compared to other major continental leagues, especially the Premier League, the competition with the greatest economic power in the world. A referee in the Premier has a fixed salary of 3,750 euros per month, three times less than in Spain, with a salary of 12,500 euros per month. In England between 7,000 and 10,000 per month. As in the League, the English have extras per game, but a much smaller amount: 1,300 euros per extra game, compared to 4,200 for First League referees. Therefore, the average monthly salary of a Premier judge would range between 7,000 and 10,000 euros per month. In case they are international judges, the salary would be significantly increased.

These are incredible figures which contrast with England where salaries in any sector are higher than those in Spain, but not in refereeing. Even second league referees themselves are paid more than Premier League referees. The Spaniards are twice as high as the French, who have a fixed salary of 6,000 and an allowance per match of 2,900 euros.

Referees in Spain have stellar salaries. His job is complicated, and the responsibility that comes with judging at the highest level is great. Despite being secondary players in the football spectacle, they have incomes that put them on par with elite athletes.