The Premier League and Pro Ref is opening up more communications from the on-field referees and video assistant referees (VARs) in-game this season – to give supporters further insight into how and why decisions are made. Alongside the professional referees’ body, the Premier League will also continue to lobby football’s lawmakers IFAB to allow more communications from the Match Officials to be broadcast in-game. While this continues, there are opportunities to provide more information in-game via existing and new communications channels – through messaging on the Premier League Match Centre X account – which will also now be available on the Premier League website and app – and Ref Cam.
Direct officials’ wording from Premier League Match Centre
This season, communications from Premier League Match Centre will include direct quotes from the on-field officials and from VAR, in selected incidents where this can be helpful to clarify the rationale behind a decision. This can include the “referee’s call” as described on-field, and the VAR’s direct explanation for why they do not intervene or why they recommended an on-field review. This is in addition to the existing clarifications posted by PL Match Centre, which go alongside in-stadium referee announcements and messaging on the big screens in-stadium. The posts for each incident will be published on the Premier League Match Centre page on X – and now, on the Premier League website and Premier League app via a dedicated page updated for each match round.
In-game audio from the Ref Cam
Ref Cam offers a unique perspective from the referee’s view during Premier League matches. Last season, we saw in-game video clips being used in select incidents and next season, this will be expanded to include audio clips. This will only be used in games using Ref Cam – which is approximately 1-2 games per match round – and only for selected incidents. This will not include live or in-game audio from the VAR, in line with the restrictions defined by IFAB.
Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel
From the 2026/27 season – the Premier League will publish the results of its Key Match Incident (KMI) Panel weekly, on its website and app – for full transparency around the evaluation of the decisions made by Match Officials. The KMI Panel, introduced during the 2022/23 Premier League season, is an independent body tasked with reviewing key decisions as part of the evaluation of match officials’ performance. The primary purpose of the KMI Panel is to assess critical Premier League match incidents, such as penalties, red cards, offside decisions, and other situations that fall under the referee's jurisdiction. Each decision by Match Officials is adjudged to be correct or incorrect in the opinion of the panel, made up of three former players or coaches, alongside a representative from each of the Premier League and Pro Ref.
Match Officials Mic’d Up
Howard Webb, Pro Ref’s Chief Refereeing Officer, will continue to front the regular “Match Officials Mic’d Up” programme – available via Premier League broadcast partners. The show allows the release of the full on-field and VAR audio around selected incidents, alongside Howard’s analysis, to provide further rationale and bring supporters closer to the decisions made in the Premier League.
