Premier League players have to pay surprise fee which comes out of their wages

Premier League players must pay a surprise fee which comes out of their wage packets on each occasion.

The average wage of a Premier League player during the 2025/26 season stands at £79,500 per week, according to Capology.

Some players can earn additional amounts on top of that through appearance, goal, clean sheet or assist bonuses.

Many top-flight clubs have well-known fine systems, where players can be deducted either a small amount of their wages, or perform a type of 'forfeit', for breaching various set club rules.

Then there are penalties that the Premier League are responsible for issuing penalties over, though most of them are team-related such as a failure to control players.

But there is one breach that several clubs choose to force their players to pay the penalty for - and it happens on the pitch every week.

Every time a player gets a yellow card, their club is charged a total of £10 per yellow card, regardless of what the offence was for.

The Daily Mail report that, at several unnamed clubs, the charge is passed on to the players themselves, who then have to pay it.

It will no doubt only rank as a minor inconvenience to the vast majority of those Premier League players, though for those earning the minimum wage of £180 on youth contracts - of which there are, admittedly, barely any at the senior level - it might be a slightly bigger hit.

Premier League players are fined £10 for yellow cards (Image: Getty)

Last season, the FA released a document which shone a light on the various penalties handed down for red card offences.

A second yellow card dismissal is classed as the most minor S7 offence, and results in a £35 fine.

Denial of a clear goal-scoring opportunity, meanwhile, is also worth a £35 fine but is classed as a more serious S4/S5 offence.

But players are fined the maximum £55 and given a six-match automatic suspension, plus seven penalty points, for spitting, which is classed as the most severe S3 offence.

There are also S1 offences (serious foul play, which carries a three-match suspension and five penalty points) and an S2 offence (violent conduct, resulting in a three-match suspension and six penalty points).

Of course, the three most serious charges are often subject to FA disciplinary investigations and can be increased if required.