The Premier League has announced three transparency measures for the upcoming season, including the public release of full verdicts from its Key Match Incidents Panel — a step that will allow fans to see how referees and video assistant referees are being evaluated for the first time.

The Key Match Incidents Panel, known as the KMI Panel, has operated since the 2022-23 season. Its findings were previously shared only with clubs and officials, though clubs regularly leaked the contents. From this season, the complete judgements will be made available to the public.

What the KMI Panel does

The five-member panel convenes each week to assess every major incident across Premier League matches — including goals, penalties, and red cards. Its membership comprises three former players and coaches, one Premier League representative, and one from the referees' body Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO).

The panel examines each decision through the lens of the laws of the game and the standards the Premier League expects from its officials. It first reviews the on-field referee team's call, then evaluates the VAR's response. Because the VAR operates to a higher threshold — clear and obvious error — there are cases where the panel finds the referee wrong but the VAR correct not to step in.

Incidents that VAR cannot review, such as missed second yellow cards, also fall within the panel's scope. A simple majority determines whether a decision is correct or not, and the results feed into performance-related payments for referees at the end of each season.

Fewer errors, but more scrutiny

Figures from last season, seen by BBC Sport, recorded 25 VAR errors — an increase from 18 in the 2024-25 campaign, though still a significant improvement on the 31 logged in 2023-24 and the 38 in 2022-23.

Direct quotes and RefCam audio

Alongside the KMI verdicts, the Premier League will publish selected direct quotes from referees and VAR operators on its Match Centre account on X, its official website, and the Premier League app. This replaces the previous practice of posting general summaries, and will instead provide the actual reasoning — why a referee awarded a decision, or why the VAR chose not to intervene.

The league will also expand its use of RefCam, broadcasting audio of referees speaking to players for the first time. The footage will not be shown live and will not include conversations between the referee and the VAR, but it will be used once or twice per round of fixtures during the game broadcast.

Ifab remains a barrier

The Premier League and Pro Ref acknowledge that their ambitions are constrained by the International Football Association Board (Ifab), which has so far refused to permit the live broadcast of VAR discussions. The Premier League intends to continue dialogue with Ifab to push for greater public access to VAR communications.