The biggest and richest World Cup of all time will also cover referees in gold. According to the Times, match officials appointed for games in the United States, Mexico and Canada will be able to earn a record sum of 100,000 dollars each (around 83,000 euros). Top referees, such as the Englishmen Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor, could take home a total of 376,000 euros.
For comparison, the average annual salary of a Premier League referee is between 170,000 and 180,000 pounds (around 200,000 euros at current exchange rates). This means that referees reaching the final stages of the tournament will earn almost double, while officiating a maximum of five matches compared to the dozens assigned to those working in the Premier League.
In addition, the best referees in the tournament will receive substantial bonuses if they are also appointed for the knockout phase. The American World Cup, in short, knows no budget limits. Not even for referees. History also shows this: compared to the 2014 edition in Brazil, match officials’ salaries have more than doubled. According to sources within refereeing circles, these substantial fees reflect FIFA’s aim of bringing the world’s best officials to the tournament.
Among them, however, will not be the Somali referee Omar Artan, named in 2025 by the African Football Confederation as Referee of the Year, after the United States denied him entry into the country. Somalia, it should be recalled, is included in the so-called “travel ban”, a measure introduced by US President Donald Trump that restricts entry into the United States for citizens of certain countries.
Omar Artan had obtained a diplomatic visa that would have allowed him to carry out his duties in the United States, but despite this he was turned back at the border and placed on a flight to Istanbul. FIFA will now have to replace Artan with another match official, although the impression is that it will not struggle to do so.