What referees earn in Austria: “Today” has the numbers
The men in black see red! Austria's referees locate grievances in pay and employment.
Most recently, Austria's top referees had to wait for their bonuses because the ÖFB was in default with the payment. Not the first time. “The delay can be attributed to changes in digitization and disease-related causes. In the meantime we have taken precautions to ensure that this does not happen again, ”explained General Secretary Thomas Hollerer. But: Ex-top referee Harald Ruiss, now chairman of the referee representation, points out other sticking points: the amount of pay and the type of employment.
A domestic Bundesliga referee earns an average of 15,000 euros a year gross. For comparison: The fees in England and Germany are 70,000. In addition, domestic referees are not employed. Ruiss: “If someone is injured, he has no income, he has to bear the therapy costs himself.” The fee must also cover training courses and training units. Travel costs are reimbursed according to a 2nd class ÖBB ticket.
“We have been pointing out the unprofessional and labor law unsatisfactory situation for years,” says Ruiss. “To classify referees as freelance workers is out of date with regard to further development.”
