Premier League referees are being offered the chance to triple their salaries by joining the exodus to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Professional League has splashed huge amounts of cash over the past year in an effort to improve the standard in the division. Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane, N’Golo Kante and Jordan Henderson are among the players to have joined Saudi clubs in return for gigantic salaries – and now the league is targeting referees.
Offers have been made to top Premier League officials and other stand-out referees from around Europe. The Daily Mail reports that they have been told they can earn £330,000 tax-free per year – a sum which represents a major wage increase for officials.
Polish referee Szymon Marciniak and Spain’s Antonio Mateu Lahoz – two regulars in the Champions League – have reportedly already been approached. The two of them have rejected the offer, but there is concern in the Premier League that a talent drain could be on the way.
The signs are already there, with Michael Oliver having already been paid £3,000 to officiate a game between Al-Hilal and Ronaldo's Al-Nassr in April. Meanwhile, former Premier League referees Mark Clattenburg and Howard Webb have both previously worked as Saudi Arabia’s director of refereeing.
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Clattenburg quit the Premier League in February 2017 for a stint in Saudi Arabia, which lasted two years. Speaking soon after he was openly critical of the standard of officiating in Saudi Arabia. “It’s one of those things – I had too many jobs,” he told television station Al Arabiya. “When they arrived they was a big fitness problem and were not well trained. I was disappointed in my meetings as they failed in the basic standards and understanding of the law of the game.”
Michael Oliver is among the Premier League's top referees (Patrick Smith/FIFA via Getty Images)Things have improved since then, but those in charge of the Saudi Pro League are clearly anxious to buy in experience. With former Chelsea director of football Michael Emenalo overseeing things, there is an obvious strategy in place to use the country’s wealth to grow the game.
Ex-Premier League referee Keith Hackett is worried. "Oliver has done a World Cup, and he's in line for the next World Cup too – he's our number one," he told Football Insider. "But I'm concerned. Both Webb and Mark Clattenburg went over to the Middle East on a full-time basis. There is a risk there of the Premier League losing a world-class referee.”
Meanwhile, Clattenburg has warned his former colleagues that they may have to forfeit the chance to officiate in major tournaments if they move to Saudi Arabia. He didn’t realise that his move in 2017 would mean he couldn’t work on the Champions League, European Championships or World Cup.
A previous version of this article reported that Clattenburg's 'stint stint in Saudi Arabia only ended up lasting 18 months, after being taken off him abruptly in October 2018'. This is incorrect. We have been asked to make clear that in fact, Clattenburg was offered a 24-month contract in Saudi Arabia which was completed in full. He then took up a new role as a referee in China. We are happy to clarify this and apologise for the error.
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