Premier League to share referee and VAR comments after matches

Premier League fans will get more details about referees and VAR decisions this season. The league will share direct comments from officials, selected Ref Cam audio, and weekly reviews of key decisions on its digital platforms.

The Premier League and the referees' group, Pro Ref, said this new way of sharing information will help fans understand how and why decisions are made during games.

PUNCH Online reports that the 2026/27 football season kicks off on Friday. Defending champion Arsenal FC will play against newly promoted Coventry FC.

With this new system, the Premier League Match Centre will publish direct quotes from referees and VARs for selected incidents. This is meant to explain the decisions better.

The league mentioned that this might include the “referee’s call” on the pitch or the VAR’s reasons for not intervening or for suggesting an on-field review.

“This season, communications from the 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,” the Premier League said in a statement on Tuesday.

“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,” the statement added.

These updates will be available on the Premier League Match Centre account on X and for the first time, on a dedicated page on the Premier League website and app. This page will be updated for each match round.

The changes will also apply to Ref Cam. This feature shows footage from the referee’s point of view during Premier League matches.

The Premier League said that Ref Cam, which was used for selected video clips last season, will now include audio from some incidents.

“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,” it added.

The audio will only be used in matches where Ref Cam is featured, which the league estimates will be about one or two games each 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,” the Premier League said.

From the 2026/27 season, the league will also post the weekly findings of its Key Match Incident (KMI) Panel on its website and app.

The KMI Panel started during the 2022/23 season. It is an independent group that reviews key decisions to assess match officials' performances.

Their reviews look at important incidents like penalties, red cards, offside decisions, and other situations referees handle.

“Each decision by Match Officials is judged 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,” the statement said.

The league believes that sharing the panel’s findings weekly will help make refereeing decisions clearer for fans.

Meanwhile, Pro Ref Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb will keep leading the “Match Officials Mic’d Up” program, shared through Premier League broadcast partners.

The program includes the full audio from the field and VAR for selected incidents, along with Webb’s analysis.

“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,” EPL stated.

The league and Pro Ref will keep pushing the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body in charge of football laws, to allow more communication from match officials to be aired during live matches.