UEFA Champions League referees are usually selected based on their performance level from different countries, but what does the Champions League referee salary look like per match and annually?
Champions League referees are grouped into different tiers which depends on their experience.
Elite is the professional referee who has 5-7 years of experience in football league careers, such as Szymon Marciniak, the Polish referee who took charge of the 2023 Champions League final.
Elite referees are selected for the big matches of knockout round, semifinals, round of 16 and finals. The elite category referees are paid $7,000-$8,000 per match.
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UEFA Champions League Referees Salaries 2022-23
Category | Match Referee | Assistant Referee | Fourth Umpire |
Elite | $10,000 | $3,000 | $1,000 |
Elite Development | $6,500 | $2,000 | $800 |
First | $3,000 | $750 | N/A |
Second | $2,000 | $550 | N/A |
Third | $1,000 | $350 | N/A |
The assistant referee is paid ($2,500) per match when selected for the big match. In group matches, they get paid up to $1,000 per game.
As for the fourth officials that get paid $1,000 when selected for the knockout round and final matches of the champions league season.
They earn $750 per game during the group matches.
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How Much Assistant Referee Gets Paid Per Match in Champions League?
In addition to these match payments, UEFA referees are also given a €200 daily allowance for meals during their travels including a $272 (€200) one-time lump-sum for domestic travel expenses like visas, hotels before an early flight, transport to the airport, and so on.
However, that pay rate is only for the few Elite centre referees. In reality, most of the men in charge of Europe’s most prestigious games, on which the fortunes of clubs turn, make less more than the average bi-monthly take-home pay of a white-collar professional.
In the case of fourth referees, they make much less than this. And there are only a very few Champions League match days each year.
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Champions League Referees Per Match Fees (2023)
Official | Category | Per Match Fees | Country |
Damir Skomina | Elite Panel | $10,000 | Solvenia |
Cüneyt Çakır | Elite Panel | $10,000 | Turkey |
Björn Kuipers | Elite Panel | $10,000 | Netherlands |
Danny Makkelie | Elite Panel | $8,000 | Netherlands |
Antonio Mateu Lahoz | Elite Panel | $8,000 | Spain |
Dr. Felix Brych | Elite Panel | $10,000 | Germany |
Daniele Orsato | Elite Panel | $8,000 | Italy |
Gianluca Rocchi | Elite Panel | $8,000 | Italy |
Clément Turpin | Elite Panel | $10,000 | France |
William Collum | Elite Panel | $8,000 | Scotland |
Carlos Del Cerro Grande | Elite Panel | $8,000 | Ukraine |
Benoît Bastien | Elite Panel | $6,500 | France |
John Beaton | First | $3,000 | Scotland |
Anatoliy Abdula | Second | $2,000 | Ukraine |
Aliyar Aghayev | Second | $2,000 | Azerbaijan |
Marius Avram | Second | $2,000 | Israel |
Mohammed Al-Hakim | Third | $1,000 | Sweden |
Sascha Amhof | Third | $1,000 | Switzerland |
Details of champions league referee salary in the above table were taken from trusted sources.
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A referee's job is one of the most difficult in football. His every decision is analysed and scrutinised by managers, players and fans. So do you think this salaries are worth it?
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 years ago
