same problem here in germany as well-- the referee progam itself is well done. The refs are extremley well educated. But the paying? it s a joke. I myself educated (long ago) also referees in the early 90 s--- but will never do this, or even the job again. To do this job 10-12 hours is exhausting and tough ( physically and mentally).
But hey--- tell me a sport, where referees really earn good money. Usually they re just always the idiot to shout at ^^
Baseball, football, basketball, tennis…..etc etc.
UFC refs can make up to $15k on a pay per view.
Obviously pool doesn’t have that kind of money. But ya, refs and umpires make very good money if they are in the top league in a game or sport.