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How much referees Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor will earn working at World Cup 2026
Jun 09 2026 08:24 · By John Cross/Chief Football Writer · 32 Reads
World Cup referees will each earn an eye-watering $100,000 (£75,000) for the tournament.
And they could get bonuses on top if they are kept on for the latter stages of the competition and the top refs will cash in even more if they get the final. FIFA do want to have the best officials in the world in the tournament this summer and it is around double what they were paid for the 2014 World Cup.
England’s top refs Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor have both been selected by FIFA and therefore are in line for a big pay day. If either is chosen for the final - and they can only get the nod if England do not reach the showpiece on July 19 - then they could get big bonuses on top.
Jarred Gillett, who works in the Premier League , is also at the World Cup as a specialist VAR official.
Oliver and Taylor have already earned around £250,000 this season for refereeing in the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA matches in the Champions League .
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Last year, the EFL revealed to clubs that the average Premier League referee earns between £170,000 and £180,000 in match fees and bonuses. Top flight officials are paid a base salary between £72,000 and £148,000 based on experience and seniority which is then boosted by performances and match fees. Even junior refs in the Premier League’s Select One category can earn around £125,000-a-year as a starting point.
FIFA have brought in new rules and VAR protocols for refs at the World Cup to allow VARs to intervene and disallow goals for a foul by the attacker even BEFORE the ball is in play.
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.
For the first time, VARs will 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.