Premier League referees are paying for their mistakes, Sportsmail can reveal, with yearly performance-related bonuses of up to £50,000 taking a hit with each error.
Referees are marked for every performance depending on whether their decisions are deemed right or wrong and these scores are tallied by their bosses in a 'merit table'.
A typical Premier League referee earns a basic salary of around £110,000 to £120,000 but bonuses can boost that figure to £160,000 or £170,000.
Bonuses are largely determined by the 'merit table' produced by referees' body PGMOL at the end of each season - in which the top-ranked referee will receive the highest bonus and the bottom-ranked official gets the lowest.