David Coote’s wages and bonuses as a Prem League referee revealed as future doubtful

As a Premier League referee, David Coote is one of the highest paid officials in Europe – though his future in that role has been cast in doubt over a video scandal.

The 42-year-old, from Nottinghamshire, has been suspended by PGMOL after a clip allegedly showing him making derogatory comments about Liverpool and former manager Jurgen Klopp circulated on social media. The footage appears to show him branding the Merseyside club “s***” and labelling their ex-boss a “German c***”.

Coote, who has a history of giving controversial decisions against Liverpool, is now being investigated by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited group, who officiate all top flight matches in England and Wales. In a statement, PGMOL said: “David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect pending a full investigation. PGMOL will be making no further comment until that process is complete.”

Referees in the Premier League are paid between £73,191 and £147,258, based on their experience and rank, with a match fee of £1,116 per game or £837 if they’re working as the video assistant referee for any selected match.

According to The Athletic, referees also earn bonuses based on the quality of their performance – this is measured using ‘key match incidents’, and the more they get right the higher the pay cheque.

While the Premier League’s top earners by salary in Europe, La Liga’s officials are the highest paid due to other deals. Over on the Iberian peninsula, referees command a fixed £124,256 salary and they receive an additional £4,205 match fee, or £2,102 per game if they are the VAR referee.

On top on those massive earnings, refs in La Liga also pocket an extra £21,929 a year for image rights, as they wear advertising by the Wurth Group on their kits.

Ligue 1 referees’ earnings were previously made public by L’Equipe. Alongside the usual match fee, officials in France are also paid for working on the continent. Refereeing a European match is worth €5,000 (£4,290) a go for French officials, who can also secure up to double that (£8,580) if they work an international fixture.

And if that wasn’t enough, French officials are also allocated a daily allowance of €600 (£515) over a three-day period for expenses like accommodation, travel and meals.