27th March 2026
March 26 – Refereeing mistakes in the Premier League have risen across most categories this season, with the total number of errors now standing at 54 after the latest Key Match Incidents panel report added four more.
At the same stage last season, the figure was 44. Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL), the body that oversees match officials, insists the general trend is positive, pointing to 70 errors recorded after 30 games in 2023-24.
VAR errors alone have already matched last season’s full-season total of 18, with a quarter of the campaign still to play. Missed VAR interventions are up, on-field errors are up, and incorrect second yellow card decisions have increased from season to season.
The most recent panel, covering matches between March 14-16, identified three missed penalties.
Arsenal should have had a spot-kick against Everton for a foul on Kai Havertz. Chelsea’s Reece James pulled back Newcastle’s Malick Thiaw inside the area. And Kevin Schade was held by Wolverhampton’s Andre when Brentford should have been awarded a penalty. The VAR, in each case, did not intervene.
The fourth error was an incorrect second yellow card for Leeds United’s Gabriel Gudmundsson at Crystal Palace, a decision not currently reviewable by VAR, though that changes next season.
There are some positives amongst the gloom, though. VAR delays have improved by 25 seconds over three seasons, with stoppages down from 64 seconds to 48. Incorrect VAR reviews have fallen slightly. On-field accuracy, excluding VAR corrections, has held steady at around 86% since 2023-24.
Which raises a question nobody at PGMOL seems keen to answer. If the technology is getting better, the processes are improving, and delays are coming down, why are errors going up? More cameras, more angles, more data, but despite these complementary components, still more mistakes. At some point, the conversation has to move beyond marginal gains and address whether the system itself is working as promised.
PGMOL will take the progress where it can find it. Supporters watching decisions go against their clubs will take a different view.
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