one of the guys in my work is a cat 1 ref, albeit just turned cat 1. it is just the SPL refs that get this, div 1 get less, div 2 even less and div 3 even less.
remember without refs we have no game. remember we nearly lost a week of the season because the abuse from players/managers/clubs got to the point where it was ridiculous. i dont envy the referees, how many of us would actually want to be in the middle with 22 players doing anything to win but also berating every decision you make just about. how many of us can handle the pressure. ive always thought i would like to give it a go just to see how hard it is.
yes sometimes the performances have been substandard but everyone is human, everyone makes mistakes. im sure each one of us makes mistakes at work but have yearly increments in salary or hourly rate so we cant knock the refs for taking a pay increase.
yes they are not at the level of their english counterparts where they are full time but having spoke to a few they have regular training sessions, rules tests, fitness tests. they watch through dvds of their performances, teams they are going to be refing so they can see formations.
without refs we have no game and without a game we have no ICT!