Football fans will gain new insights into referee and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decisions this season as the Premier League begins publishing the full judgements of its Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel.
This initiative is one of three measures introduced by the league to enhance transparency. Alongside the KMI Panel's verdicts, direct explanations from officials will be published, and RefCam audio of referees interacting with players will be broadcast.
The KMI Panel, which has met since the 2022-23 season, assesses and votes on every major incident, providing feedback to clubs and officials. Previously, these judgements were kept private, though information often leaked.
Selected direct quotes from referees and VARs will be shared on the Premier League's Match Centre account on X, its website, and app to explain decision rationales. The expanded use of RefCam will allow in-game broadcasting of audio between the referee and players, though this will not be live or include conversations between the referee and VAR.
Last season, the KMI Panel identified 25 VAR errors, an increase from 18 in the 2024-25 campaign. This figure represents an improvement on the 31 errors in 2023-24 and 38 in 2022-23.