The Premier League will introduce three measures this season aimed at making refereeing decisions more transparent, including publishing the reasoning behind controversial verdicts, providing fuller explanations from referees and releasing audio of conversations between officials and players.
The changes, reported by Tycsports, are designed to give supporters a clearer understanding of how important decisions are assessed and communicated during matches.
The first will affect the expert panel that reviews disputed incidents from every matchday. Since the 2022/23 season, three former players and coaches have met with representatives from the Premier League and the refereeing organisation after each round of fixtures. The panel votes on whether controversial decisions were correct.
Until now, only the result of that vote has been made available. Under the new system, the panel’s complete reasoning will also be published. That will allow supporters and other interested parties to see the standards and arguments used when a decision is judged to be right or wrong.
A second change will be made through the Premier League’s official social media channels. Previously, posts about incidents involving VAR generally consisted only of a summary of what had happened. From this season, the relevant referee’s explanation will also be included in those updates.
The third measure is the publication of audio from discussions between referees and players on the pitch. It will provide a new insight into exchanges during some of the most contentious and intense moments of matches, giving the public greater access to how officials communicate with those involved.
The measures follow a period of growing concern over confidence in VAR and the wider decision-making process. Two years ago, Wolves called directly for VAR to be abolished and triggered a vote among Premier League clubs on the issue.
Wolves were the only club to vote in favour of scrapping the system. However, the episode prompted the Premier League to commit to specific improvements in the way decisions are made and explained. The three measures being introduced this season represent a response to that commitment.
Publishing the full basis of the expert panel’s votes, adding referees’ explanations to VAR-related posts and releasing referee-player audio will give supporters more information about decisions that have previously been accompanied by limited detail.
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