For many of us, the football players who serve the clubs we support become almost people we know.
We remember their age, their finest moments, things they have said and done, we know their strengths and weaknesses, etc. Even if they leave the club we support, we might sometimes keep an eye on them and see how they are doing.
Because of this, we are usually aware of when footballers retire, and perhaps even expect it before it happens since they tend to all hang up their boots around a similar age. There is often an official announcement and a thank you for their service to the club over the years, maybe even a testimonial match played in their honour.
If the player was particularly charismatic, they might end up in front of the camera talking about football; or they might end up on the radio commentating on games; or we might see them managing, or coaching, or advertising random products on the tele.
In short, we know when they stop playing and we often see what they get up to afterwards.
With referees though, this is not the case.
Not only do they get much less attention (and much less money) than the players, but there are far fewer of them, and they tend to disappear quite quietly when they hang up their whistle. Many fans never really question what happens to a ref when they stop being a ref, but they have to do something, right?
So what is it?
When do Premier League Referees Retire?
There is no official age at which a referee has to hang up his whistle, but the early to mid 50s seems to be the oldest refs can manage – that said, there have been a number of octagenarians reffing in the lower leagues – but for professional refs, around 50ish is usually the limit.
This is because, despite not having to be as fit and spritely as the players, a ref still has to be incredibly fit to keep up with them, running up and down the field to ensure they are well positioned to see what is going on and make the right decisions.
Whoever you are, once you get past 50 the body starts to refuse to comply, so most refs don’t push it too much further once they get to this sort of age.
They don’t technically have to – as long as they are still up to the job they can keep working – but most refs who get to this age have been doing it for well over a decade, sometimes two, so they are often ready for a change even if they stay with PGMOL.
This is the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, an organisation that handles match officials for all games from the grass roots leagues in the UK right the way up to the Premier League.
They train, manage and place referees each week (for example, a ref can’t officiate a game featuring the team they support), and there is a whole tier system set up to enable the best officials to climb the ranks, and to help younger refs improve their skills and abilities.
The below table shows how the tier system works, and which level a ref has to be at to ref in each league:
Tier | Status | Leagues Officiate |
---|---|---|
International | FIFA List | Split into Elite Group, First Group, Second Group & Third Group |
Select Group | Professional Referee | Premier League (Referee Only) |
Select Group 2 | Professional Referee | EFL Championship (Referee Only) |
Level 1 | National List | EFL League 1 & 2 (Referee Only) |
Level 2a | Panel List | National League (full), Football League (Assistant referee) or Premier League (Select Group Assistant Referee) |
Level 2b | National League North and National League South (full), National League (Assistant referee) or Football League (Assistant referee) or Premier League (Select Group Assistant Referee) | |
Level 3 | Contributory Referees, National League North and National League South (Assistant Referee) or National League (Assistant referee) or Football League (Assistant referee) or Premier League (Select Group Assistant Referee) | |
Level 4 | Supply League Referees, Contributory League Assistant Referee | |
Level 5 | Senior County Referees, Supply League Assistant Referee | |
Level 6 | County Referees, Supply League Assistant Referee | |
Level 7 | Junior Referees, Supply League Assistant Referee | |
Level Y(8) | Youth Referee | |
Level 9 | Trainee Referee | |
Level 10 | Declared non-active Referees (back garden referee) |
As you can see, only those towards the top of the table are classed as professional referees, with the others working on a part time self employed basis, or even voluntary towards the bottom of the table, where they are in training.
Generally, refs at the top of the table will be the older more experienced ones, and therefore the ones closer to retirement.
This creates a need for newer younger refs to be helped through the ranks though, because otherwise, swatches of experienced time served referees would all retire at the same time, leaving a dearth of experience for big games that require expert positioning, peak fitness, and split second decision making skills under pressure.
Are Referees Full Time?
We can see from the table above that referees from Select Group 2 upwards are classed as professional so they would be full time referees.
Premier League refs have been professional since 2001, but those working in the Championship only gained that honour in 2016, although they are paid less than their PL counterparts.
Those below that level will probably have other jobs as well, given that refs in EFL 1 and 2 are hired on a self employed basis and only get around £400 per game, with no retainer or salary and no guarantee of employment.
Below that level refereeing would be almost a hobby, since the fee for non-league refs is around £50 per game, although of course those younger refs with ambitions to climb the ladder must come through the lower leagues first, so many future full time officials might well be working for a few quid a game in these leagues.
Those who do work full time have a lot to do between matches, such as filing their own official reports and studying others’, researching teams they are going to be reffing the week after to help them with their positioning or to spot any recurring bad behaviour, and of course physical training. They have to regularly submit heart rate information and their fitness levels are under constant scrutiny.
They may also visit clubs to talk to players and staff about rules and regulations and give advice on what sort of challenges might result in card decisions, and could also officiate practice matches, and there is a lot of travel to fit in as well with overnight stays that have to be factored in.
What do Referees Get Paid?
Refs have been full time professionals in the Premier League since 2001, and the money has always been decent at this level, and it has increased over time too.
Payment runs down into the lower tiers of the football leagues too, although the numbers we are talking about are much lower.
Nevertheless, even those officiating below National League level will get a fee per game, perhaps £50, but those working in the likes of the Premier League and the EFL make decent money.
Obviously, just like in every other career, the salary a referee gets will go up over time, but in 2022 a Premier League ref could make upwards of £70,000 depending on how many games they work on each season.
This is because their pay scheme has two aspects to it:
- Salary/Retainer
- Match Fee
A top tier referee (one in the Select Group) will earn around £42,000 as a salary at the top end, plus a match fee of £1,150.
That means a ref only needs to work 30 of the 38 possible games to earn £34,500 on top of the £42,000 retainer.
That’s a total of £76,500. Not bad, huh? Although you might say they deserve more for the sort of grief they have to put up with.
Refs who are newly promoted to the Select Group may get a little less than those who have loads of top tier experience, but the above is a good guide to the sort of money a Premier League ref might be able to earn.
In the Championship we will be talking less again, with a match fee of £600 and a salary/retainer of around £35,000 as of 2022, but this can and will change as time goes on, and depending on experience.
What do Premier League Referees do After They Retire?
For anyone who skipped the rest of the article, there is an organisation called Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) which was formed in 2001 to improve refereeing standards.
The organisation appoints referees to all games across the Premier League, EFL, and FA competitions, and these leagues all contribute to fund PGMOL.
As we have already learned, referees can go on performing at the top level much longer than a footballer can, so depending on how many working years they have left they could go on to do something else entirely or move into a related field.
A good example are the veteran Premier League refs, Mike Dean, Martin Atkinson, and Jon Moss, all of whom retired in 2022 after many years working in the top flight, including officiating FA Cup finals and other high pressure fixtures.
Atkinson and Moss moved into management and coaching roles within the PGMOL – that’s right, referees are managed and coached just like players – while Mike Dean began to explore TV work, ending his relationship with PGMOL.
There are plenty of roles within PGMOL for top tier refs who are retiring, such as those already mentioned, as well as being part of the team who choose which refs officiate which games, running the organisation itself, advisory roles, etc.
They might even continue to work but in a less visible role, such as being the VAR referee in a room full of screens away from the crowds.
Of course, some refs might decide to go off and so something else entirely, or if they have earned enough over the years they might even retire from work altogether.
A ref’s life after his final whistle can be as diverse as the referees themselves, although it will partly come down to the level at which the ref was working before he retired.
An EFL ref probably won’t have had the exposure to go on to work in TV or the media, nor the funds to stop working altogether, while those at the top end of the football leagues will have more options open to them.