THE Premier League Board (PLB) has announced an increase in allowances to Premier League referees, ranging from 100 percent and above.The modest monetary improvement in the allowances of the referees is one major means being exploited by the PLB to contain the often-mentioned allegation of bribery of referees and the attendant influence on officiating.

The PLB at a meeting with representatives of the Referees Association of Ghana (RAG) last Tuesday, agreed to increase allowances for FIFA referees in the Premiership from ?115,000 to ?250,000 per match.The new figure, although more than a 100 percent increase from what pertained last year, fell a ?100,000 short of the proposal sent by RAG.

The meeting also agreed on a ?200,000 allowance for class one referees who collected just ?100,000 per match last year, while fourth referees will now receive ?150,000 per match, double of what they received last year. The modest financial motivation spilled over into other areas such as allowance for food and transport as defined separately.

In both instances, the referees’ proposals of ?60,000 and ?40,000 for food and transport allowances respectively, as against last year’s ?30,000 and ?20,000, were accepted by the PLB.A PLB source told the Graphic Sports that the board is desirous of improving the standard of referees and eventually officiating in the premier league to forestall the unpleasant complaints that have characterised the competition in the past, hence the increase in allowances to the referees.

The source agreed that low allowances could be an incentive to corruption, and said the PLB’s decision to grant increments in allowances from 100 percent and above is aimed at reducing the probability of referees’ indulgence in the act.Referees have been at the centre of criticism in recent times, having to live with accusations from match officials and fans alike.

Some critics have carried their complaints too far by inflicting physical pain on some match officials. The height of such dastardly scenes was recorded when a fan hammered the central referee’s head with a football boot during a league match between Asante Kotoko and Bofoakwa at Sunyani in 2001.Other occasions like the Charles Taylor yellow card saga in the same year - a case in which the referee at the centre levelled accusations against both Hearts and Kotoko for their separate attempts to influence him - and the events that led to the May 9 disaster, have only given boost to accusations against referees.

Indeed, the new rates mean referees may make better incomes than some teams in certain matches.

With their ?350,000 or ?300,000 as the case may be, the summation of allowances for the four officials runs into the millions, a figure most teams struggle to make on match days.