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.