Premier League to publish full referee and VAR verdicts this season

The Premier League will publish the full verdicts of its Key Match Incidents Panel on referee and VAR decisions for the first time this season. The plan is one of three transparency measures, alongside direct explanations from officials and expanded RefCam coverage.

The five-member KMI Panel has assessed major incidents since 2022-23, but its complete conclusions have previously been kept private. Its findings are shared with clubs and officials, while only some details have become public through club communications.

The panel reviews incidents including goals, penalties and red cards at weekly meetings. Three former players or coaches sit alongside representatives of the Premier League and Pro Ref, with a simple majority deciding whether a ruling was correct.

Supporters will also receive more detail on how decisions were reached. Selected comments from referees and VARs will be published on the Premier League’s Match Centre account on X, as well as through the league’s website and app. The material will cover the officials’ initial decisions and the reasoning for VAR interventions or the choice not to intervene.

RefCam will be used once or twice during each round of fixtures, with audio allowing fans to hear referees speaking to players. The footage will not be shown live and will exclude conversations between referees and VARs. The league and Pro Ref remain unable to broadcast live VAR discussions because the International Football Association Board has not approved that use, although discussions with IFAB will continue.

The panel first examines the on-field call before considering the VAR’s role. It applies the Laws of the Game and Premier League refereeing standards, including the higher “clear and obvious” threshold for VAR intervention. That means it can decide that a referee was wrong while VAR was right not to intervene, and it can also examine matters outside VAR’s remit, such as missed second-yellow-card offences.

The published judgements will include panel members’ reasoning and will also contribute to performance-related payments for referees at the end of each season. Last season’s judgements recorded 25 VAR errors, compared with 18 in 2024-25, 31 in 2023-24 and 38 in 2022-23.