Snooker Referee Salary: How Much Do Snooker Referees Make?

Snooker Referee Salary: How Much Do Snooker Referees Make?

Do you enjoy a good snooker frame? If so, have you ever wondered how much do snooker referees get paid?

They play an important role in the game, and it pays well.

What is the snooker referee salary?

Stay put to find out.

What Does A Snooker Referee Do?

Snooker refereeing is a tough but rewarding job. Not only do you have to have an in-depth knowledge of the game, but you also need to stay calm under pressure and keep your eyes on the table at all times.

But what exactly is the role of a snooker referee?

Referees handle a variety of tasks, including:

  • Tossing a coin for the first frame to determine who will break
  • For every other frame, he announces the player who is going to break
  • Calls Foul and A Miss
  • Declares penalty and gives penalty points
  • Judges fair and unfair play
  • Cleans a ball after the players request
  • If requested, he tells the player the colour and/or position of a ball
  • Awards a Frame and/or Game
  • Can swap out a ball or a set of balls
  • Calls a Touching Ball
  • Can nulify points in stalemate

With so many responsibilities come high snooker referees earnings.

Related: Greatest snooker players

How Much Do Snooker Referees Get Paid?

The snooker referee salary often depends on the level of competition in which they officiate. Furthermore, the wages of snooker referees vary depending on whether they are entry-level or professional referees, and are usually gender specific.

Entry-Level referees

Once qualified, they can start working at lower levels of competition and work their way up to higher levels.

Beginners are chosen to replace match officials and work in amateur tournaments. After gaining experience officiating amateur and local tournaments, they can begin working on professional matches.

The entry-level base salary for a snooker referee is £3,700 per year. Their experience from 2 to 4 years in snooker gets them average snooker referee wages of £40 per game. Sometimes, their match earnings can get up to £70.

Female referees

Unfortunately, as with every other profession in sports, there is a gender gap in the pro snooker salaries. The figures show they receive an average salary of £16,000.

Additionally, they get paid £160 per match and £1,200 in tournament fees.

In fact, being part of the best referees with the highest rankings, Desislava Bozhilova and Proletina Velichkova make more than their female colleagues. Their base salary is £18,700.

Professional referees

The professional referees get selected to officiate the Snooker World Championship, The Masters, Cazoo World Championship, The BetVictor European series and other major international tournaments. Their annual average base salary is £20,000 and they get around £200 per match.

Professional referees typically charge £1,200 per tournament. The maximum tournament prize pool ranges from £2,000 to £4,000.

In addition to the base salary and match fees, male and female professionals can negotiate sponsorship deals and earn an additional £400 to £800 to complement their snooker referee earnings.

Category Fees per matchTournament feesSponsorship earningsBase salary 
Professional referees£200£1,200£400 – £800£20,000
Women Referees£160£1,200£400 – £800£16,000
Entry-Level Referee£40N/AN/A£3,600

Highest-Paid Snooker Referees

Surprisingly, the top ten positions for the highest base salaries for snooker referees are split evenly between male and female officials.

If you’re curious about who is on the list with the highest earnings, check out the table below.

RefereeFees per matchTournament feesSponsorship earningsBase salary
Malgorzata Kanieska£160£800£400£16,000
Hilde Moens£160£800£400£16,000
Tatiana Woollaston£160£800£400£16,000
Christian Fock£160£800£400£16,000
Desislava Bozhilova£200£1,200£600£18,700
Proletina Velichkova£200£1,200£600£18,700
Alex Crisan£200£1,200£400£20,000
Joery Ector£200£1,200£800£20,000
Jan Scheers£400£2,000£1,200£24,000
Ingo Schmidt£400£2,000£1,200£24,000

Conclusion

That concludes our evaluation of the snooker referee salary.

Snooker referees earn a good wage and have an interesting and challenging job.

Do you think their pay is equivalent with their responsibilities?

FAQs:

How long does It take to become a snooker referee?

The English Partnership for Snooker and Billiards (EPSB) has a new Class 3 course that runs for 16 weeks. To be eligible to referee at EPSB competitions, all officials must have completed either the new course or a bridging course by the start of the 2021/22 season.

Who is the highest-paid referee?

Jan Scheers and Ingo Schmidt share the title of the highest-paid snooker referee. They both have the highest base snooker referee salary as they also earn money from sponsorships.

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