Premier League supporters will have greater access to referees’ and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) explanations during the 2026/27 season, with direct officials’ comments, selected Ref Cam audio and weekly assessments of key decisions set to be published through the league’s digital platforms.

The Premier League and professional referees’ body Pro Ref said the expanded communications would give supporters more information about how and why decisions are made during matches.

The 2026/27 football season begins on Friday, with defending champions Arsenal facing newly promoted Coventry City.

Officials’ explanations to be published

Under the new approach, the Premier League Match Centre will publish direct quotes from on-field referees and VAR officials in selected incidents where their wording can help explain a decision.

The league said this could include the “referee’s call” made on the pitch, as well as the VAR’s explanation for why an intervention was not made or why an on-field review was recommended.

“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,” the Premier League said.

The communications will be published on the Premier League Match Centre account on X and, for the first time, through a dedicated page on the Premier League website and app, which will be updated for each match round.

Ref Cam to include selected audio

The changes will also extend to Ref Cam, which provides footage from the referee’s perspective during Premier League matches.

The Premier League said Ref Cam, which was used to provide selected in-game video clips last season, would now include audio from selected incidents.

“Ref Cam offers a unique perspective from the referee’s view during Premier League matches,” the league said.

“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 featuring Ref Cam, which the league said would be approximately one or two games per match round, and only for selected incidents.

The league stressed that the new feature would not include live or in-game VAR audio, in line with restrictions defined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).

Weekly KMI Panel findings

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

The KMI Panel was introduced during the 2022/23 season as an independent body responsible for reviewing key decisions as part of the assessment of match officials’ performances.

Its reviews cover critical incidents including penalties, red cards, offside decisions and other situations within the referee’s jurisdiction.

According to the league, each decision by match officials is adjudged to be correct or incorrect by the panel, which comprises three former players or coaches, alongside representatives from the Premier League and Pro Ref.

The league said the weekly publication of the panel’s findings would provide greater transparency around the evaluation of refereeing decisions.

Webb to continue Match Officials Mic’d Up

Meanwhile, Pro Ref Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb will continue to front the “Match Officials Mic’d Up” programme, which is distributed through Premier League broadcast partners.

The programme features the release of full on-field and VAR audio surrounding selected incidents, alongside Webb’s analysis.

The Premier League said the programme would provide further rationale behind decisions and bring supporters closer to the work of match officials.

The league and Pro Ref will also continue lobbying IFAB, football’s lawmaking body, to allow more communications from match officials to be broadcast during live matches.