Wednesday 6 July 2016

WHO'S THE BANKER IN THE BLACK #Euro2016 : Referee Jonas Eriksson will be one of the richest men on the pitch when Wales take on Belgium in semi-final - Thesun

REFEREE Jonas Eriksson will be one of the richest men on the field when he Wales take on Belgium tonight.

The minted whistler might not have the kind of cash at his disposal that Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have lying in the bank.

But the Swedish ref, 42, would still be able to spend it like the rest of them having trousered a massive sum from a business deal nine years ago.

And that is likely to mean he has more money than many of the Wales players put together.

All eyes will be on Eriksson’s reffing cards in Lyon tonight.

But his bank cards carry just as much weight after he banked £7.3m.


Eriksson used to run a successful sports rights agency until his ten percent stake – along with the rest of the company – was bought out.

The entire transaction cost a mega 73 million meaning the gleeful Swede became a multi-millionaire overnight.


Wales fans will hope that he does not drop any clangers tonight for the biggest game in their history.

The Dragons face Ronaldo and Co in their first semi-final at a major tournament since 1958

But some of their supporters are worried given Eriksson's history of controversy.

He failed to send off Robert Lewandowski in 2013 for elbowing Laurent Koscielny in Arsenal’s Champions League loss to Borussia Dortmund.

And Rangers fans  still remember him for waving away penalty claims during their Champions League clash with Sevilla back in 2009.

Gers lost 4-1 on the night and later ended up finishing bottom of the group and dropping out of the tournament

Scotland boss Gordon Strachan said at the time: "[He] should not get another game in the Champions League, he is just not good enough".

The man himself admits that he does not need the work but says refereeing big games is the "best thing" in his life.

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