Premier League to publish verdicts on referee and VAR decisions

The Premier League has announced that the Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel will disclose detailed judgements on referee and video assistant referee (VAR) decisions to fans this season. This new measure aims to enhance transparency alongside publishing direct explanations of officials and broadcasting RefCam, which includes audio of a referee discussing with players.

The five-member KMI Panel, consisting of three former players and coaches, a Premier League representative, and a Pro Ref representative, has been actively reviewing every major incident this season. Every decision is evaluated, and feedback is provided to clubs and officials. The panel assesses the on-field referee's and VAR's decisions separately, using the laws of the game and the Premier League's expectations to guide their judgments.

For each decision, the panel will publish direct quotes from the referee and/or VAR on the Premier League's Match Centre account on X, website, and app. These explanations aim to provide the rationale behind the decisions. The KMI Panel also considers situations not reviewable by VAR, such as missed second yellow cards, and requires a simple majority to determine the correctness of the decision.

Last season, the KMI Panel identified 25 VAR errors, showing a significant improvement from 18 errors in the 2024-25 campaign and 31 errors in 2023-24. The results, along with panel members' explanations, will be used to calculate performance-related payments for referees at the end of each season.