If you closely followed the extended meeting between France and Iraq this Monday (3-0), you may have noticed that Sandro Schärer was the 4th official. The Schwyz resident is the only Swiss central referee selected for this 2026 World Cup, he is even the first to receive this honor since Massimo Busacca in 2010.
Although he has still not officiated a single match in this World Cup, the 37-year-old referee will hit the jackpot. Just like the Genevan Stéphane De Almeida, called as assistant referee, and the Aargau Fedayi San, selected as VAR referee.
80,000 francs for 38 days
According to the British media “The Times”, all referees at the 2026 World Cup will receive 100,000 dollars, or a little more than 80,000 Swiss francs, for 38 days of competition. For comparison, this is twice as much as the referees selected for the 2014 World Cup received.
This salary rewards the work of these game directors who went through a long selection process to get there. “The referees selected are the best in the world,” explained Pierluigi Collina, head of FIFA refereeing, when he revealed the list of the lucky ones. They were chosen from a large number of candidates and have been monitored for the past three years. They also participated in seminars.”
These 100,000 dollars serve as a fixed salary, to which bonuses should be added for officials who go far in the competition. Significant bonuses will be paid to referees for each knockout match where they call the whistle.
