This is a comprehensive list of the top 10 highest-paid referees in the role in 2021.
Most of the people on the list are football or soccer referees who have officiated key tournaments, leagues and competitions across the globe.
While other sports like boxing, cricket, tennis and basketball are lucrative ventures for referees, it appears, football or soccer referees are leading the pack when it comes to remuneration.
How much do referees make in 2021. Who is the highest-paid referee in the world?
Let’s find out.
Mark Clattenburg is the highest-paid football referee. Mark Clattenburg has signed a contract with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, according to Sporting Free.
Mark Clattenburg’s salary is $650,000 per season, according to the contract. As a result, he is currently the highest-paid referee in the world.
Clattenburg is a former Premier League player and member of the Durham County Football Association. He has officiated in a number of high-profile matches, including the 2016 UEFA Champions League and Euro Final. Clattenburg is regarded by fans as one of the best European referees of his era.
Damir Skomina is currently the highest-paid referee in the Champions League. He is a member of UEFA’s elite panel and earns a base salary of $10,000 per match. Since 2008, he has officiated several significant games.
In addition, he served as the fourth referee at the 2008 Summer Olympics football tournament.
He presided over the historic 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League quarter-final match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich. The game took place at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, and Bayern scored 8-2 to hand Barcelona their most significant defeat in 69 years.
Cüneyt Çakır is one of the world’s highest-paid football referees. He is a Turkish soccer official who has been a FIFA listed member since 2006 and a member of the UEFA Elite since 2010. He earns $10,000 per match as a member of UEFA’s elite panel.
Based on data from 2010 to 2020, the referee was recently named the world’s second-best football official by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics.
He has officiated over 250 matches, including 12 Super Lig derbies, five of which were The Intercontinental Derby between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, and was nominated to referee the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals in Sweden.
The fifth highest-paid referee is Björn Kuipers of the Netherlands. He has been a FIFA referee since 2006 and a UEFA Elite group referee since 2009. He earns a total of $10,000 per match. Two of his teammates, Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra, stand by him during games.
Kuipers has worked as a referee at two World Cups and three European Championships. Kuipers announced his retirement from football on July 29, 2021, with his final match scheduled for August 7, 2021, when he refereed the Dutch Super Cup match between Ajax and PSV.
This football official is ranked sixth on the list. Felix Brych was born on August 3, 1975, and currently works for the SV Am Heart München of the Bavarian Football Association. He is a FIFA-listed official who also belongs to the UEFA elite category and earns around $10,000 per match.
Aside from football, he is a doctor of law. Brych was chosen by FIFA to be one of the officials for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, which will be his second FIFA World Cup. He only officiated one game during the tournament, Switzerland’s 2–1 victory over Serbia. When Brych controversially did not award Serbia a penalty, FIFA decided that he would not judge any other matches.
Clèment Turpin is a French football official. In 2010, he was named a FIFA official, and in 2012, he was named a UEFA Elite group referee, earning around $10,000 per match. In May 2016, the French Football Federation named Clèment Turpin the best French referee.
He officiated at World Cup qualifiers in 2014 and 2018. On May 26, 2021, he marched in the UEFA Europa League final 2021 between Villarreal and Manchester United.
Antonio Mateu Lahoz is one of the highest-paid football officials in the world because his home country, Spain, pays the highest basic wage in the world. As a result, Antonio Mateu Lahoz is one of the highest-paid referees in the world.
He also received a $50,000 World Cup referee salary for officiating at the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final on May 29, 2021, between Manchester City and Chelsea.
Danny Makkelie is a Dutch professional football official who became a FIFA member in 2011. He is a member of the UEFA elite group, which pays him $8,000 per match. He officiated the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship final as a UEFA Elite official.
Furthermore, UEFA has appointed Makkelie as the referee for the 2020 UEFA Europa League Final between Sevilla and Inter Milan on August 18, 2020.
He oversaw the match between Palmeiras of Brazil and UANL of Mexico in Qatar during the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup semifinals.
Daniele Orsato was born in Italy on November 23, 1975. Orsato was appointed as a FIFA referee in 2010. He has officiated in World Cup and Euro 2012 qualifying matches.
He also oversaw the 2020 UEFA Champions League Final between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, as well as the second leg of Chelsea’s UEFA Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid in 2021.
In 2020, IFFHS named Orsato the most outstanding football adjudicator of the calendar year.
Gianluca Rocchi is an Italian referee who began his career in 1990 and has officiated 38 matches in three Serie C seasons since 2000. He was eventually promoted to the higher series and made his US debut in the Lecce-Reggina Calcio (May 16 2004).
After the National Referee Committees for Series A and Series B split in 2010, he was assigned to the Serie A National Referee Committee.
He made his international debut on May 26, 2008, in a friendly match between the United States and the United Kingdom. Rocchi announced his retirement from refereeing at the age of 46, with his final match officiating on August 1, 2020, between Juventus and Roma.