Premier League: What is the KMI Panel and who is on it?

The Premier League's Key Match Incident (KMI) Panel meets every week to dissect each major decision, from goals to penalties to red cards.

The KMI Panel was created by Premier League clubs in 2022 to take performance stats out of the hands of the refereeing body.

It is not intended to look at each incident like any fan or manager would. It takes into account the laws of the game and, crucially, how the Premier League expects its games to be refereed.

That is why the list of errors will not be as extensive as supporters would expect.

The KMI Panel first looks at the decision of the on-field referee team, then of the VAR.

As the VAR is operating to a higher threshold - clear and obvious - there are times the KMI Panel will say the referee was wrong but the VAR was correct not to intervene.

That might sound confusing, so think of it this way...

A referee gives a penalty, a decision which many might disagree with. Yet at the same time, some might also say "but I can see why he's given it". That is when you will get 'incorrect on-field, but not to the VAR threshold'.

The KMI Panel also considers second yellow cards which were missed, or incorrectly shown.

Results from the KMI Panel are released one week after the conclusion of each meeting, and roughly 10 days after the final match of the round.

The judgements are used into a couple of other ways, too.

Each incident comes with a difficult level, with the results used to create the merit table for Premier League referees.

In effect, it creates a performance table which determines each referee's salary bonus. The officials towards the bottom will only receive a minor additional payment.

The findings also help to identify areas for further discussion, such as the relaxation of the definition of red cards for hair-pulling for this season.

How does the KMI Panel remain impartial?

While the KMI Panel consists of five people, they are not the same people each week and are selected on a rotational basis.

The Premier League keeps the identities of those involved anonymous, but we do know that each panel consists has five members: three former players and coaches, plus one representative each from the Premier League and Professional Game Referees (Pro Ref).

By rotating who is involved each week, the Premier League feels that this helps to maintain impartiality across decisions.

In a similar fashion to the Premier League, the Scottish Football Association introduced their own Key Match Incident Review Panel in September 2024.

It was composed in similar fashion to the Premier League, with five members - three ex-coaches, former players and/or members of the Scottish football media, plus one representative from the Scottish FA and one from SPFL clubs.

But at the start of this season, the SFA opted to discontinue the KMI Panel . This was due to clubs withdrawing from sending representatives to be involved in the reviews.

Dundee United were the first to pull out in February 2025, citing concerns over the panel's "purpose, effectiveness and impact on Scottish football".

The Tannadice club said "the panel's outcomes have been inconsistent with feedback provided by the Scottish FA". That was a reference to the monthly reviews by the SFA head of refereeing Willie Collum, who often disagreed with the panel.

Other clubs are believed to have followed United's lead from the process ahead of the start of this season.