The Premier League will publish the full judgements of its Key Match Incidents Panel (KMI Panel) for the first time, making the findings on referee and VAR decisions available to the public after three years of being shared only with clubs.

The league has now officially confirmed the change on its website, alongside further details of its plans to increase transparency around refereeing decisions.

Supporters will now be able to see the panel’s reasoning behind major refereeing decisions, although it will still have no power to change a result once the match has been decided.

Why the Premier League Is Publishing Full VAR Judgements

Clubs have received the panel's full reports since it was established, while details from those reports have often reached the public through leaks. The league says making the findings public itself will remove the need for leaked information.

The league will also publish selected quotes from referees and VAR officials in real time through its Match Centre account, website, and app. The account previously provided only general summaries explaining why a decision was made.

RefCam, the body-camera system already used during matches, will also be expanded to include audio. Fans will be able to hear referees explain their decisions directly to players on the pitch.

The panel was set up at the start of the 2022-23 season to provide an independent assessment of major decisions, rather than leaving those judgements solely to PGMOL. It has five members: three former players or coaches, one representative from the Premier League, and one from PGMOL.

Decisions are made by simple majority, not by requiring unanimous agreement. The panel also reviews cases that fall outside VAR's jurisdiction, such as missed second yellow cards. Its findings are used to coach referees and contribute to their performance assessments at the end of each season.

How Many VAR Errors Did the Premier League Record Last Season?

The panel logged 25 VAR errors last season, according to judgements seen by BBC Sport. That was up from 18 in the previous campaign. Both figures were lower than the totals recorded in the panel's first two seasons: 31 errors in 2023-24 and 38 in 2022-23.

Until now, those figures have come from the panel's internal reports. That will change when the reasoning behind each error is made public.

What RefCam Audio and Match Centre Will Show Fans

  • Full KMI Panel judgements
  • Real-time referee/VAR quotes
  • RefCam audio
  • What fans will actually be able to hear

What the VAR Panel Can and Cannot Change

The panel's authority stops at identifying whether a decision was right or wrong. It cannot alter a result, award points, or reverse a red card after the match. That became clear last season when Everton drew 3-3 with Manchester City in a match that had a direct impact on the title race.

The example highlights the limitation of the panel: it can establish that an error was made, but it cannot change the sporting consequences once the final whistle has gone.

The gap between confirming an error and being unable to do anything about it becomes harder to ignore when every finding is made public. International football's lawmaking body, IFAB, still does not allow VAR conversations between officials to be broadcast live, limiting how far these changes can go.

RefCam audio will allow fans to hear referees explain decisions to players, but they will not hear the conversation with the VAR that led to the decision.

The Premier League says it will keep pressing IFAB, together with PGMOL, to allow more officiating communication to be broadcast during matches.