The Scottish FA has unveiled a new weekly evaluation system aimed at assessing every decision made by referees and their assistants during top-tier matches.

To facilitate this, a Key Match Incident Review Panel (KMI Panel) has been established, replacing the existing Independent Review Panel (IRP), to scrutinise the decisions made by on-field officials and the VAR team for each Scottish Premiership game.

This rating system will assign grades to officials, with a green designation for correct calls and a red for incorrect ones.

The initiative will provide transparency regarding the accuracy of decisions made both on the pitch and in the VAR booth, highlighting when officials either succeed or fail in their judgments.

In cases where both the on-field referee and the VAR make errors, a severe 'double red' rating will be issued.

This development follows comments from Willie Collum, the head of refereeing at the SFA, who has recently addressed several contentious VAR decisions from the early part of the 2024/25 season, emphasising the need for enhanced precision in officiating.

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A statement from the governing body read: "The Scottish FA has introduced a Key Match Incident Review Panel, a five-person panel that will examine major incidents from that week’s fixtures in the SPFL Premiership or in matches in which VAR is operational in the Premier Sports Cup or Scottish Gas Scottish Cup.

"The Panel will vote to determine whether the on-field decision and any subsequent VAR intervention were correct.

"The KMI Panel replaces the Independent Review Panel (IRP) introduced last year to review match incidents. While the IRP met every two to three months to consider VAR interventions and non-interventions from the previous full 11 rounds of fixtures, the KMI Panel will meet on a weekly basis to consider incidents from the previous week’s fixtures. 

"Each KMI Panel will consist of five members: three independent panel members with established careers within Scottish football – such as coaches, former players and members of the Scottish football media – one representative from the Scottish FA and one representative from SPFL clubs.

"Each panellist will have one vote on each KMI, with the outcome of each review determined by the majority. Incidents for the KMI Panel to review each week are selected by SPFL clubs or the Scottish FA.

"The KMI Panel will also award a rating for the difficulty level of the decision in question, based on the following scoring method:

  1. A simple decision that all officials should get correct.
  2. A fairly simple decision for a Select official, but with more factors to consider.
  3. A more complex decision with a greater degree of subjectivity and/or more factors to consider, that a Select official should nonetheless call correctly.
  4. A difficult decision for officials with a high degree of subjectivity or challenging considerations to identify. One that needs deliberation. A 50/50 call.
  5. A particularly tough decision that all match officials would struggle with. The type of judgement where technology is needed to support officials.
  6. "The first KMI Panel met yesterday to review incidents from fixtures this past weekend, Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 September.

"Outcomes of the KMI Panel meetings, including this week's inaugural panel, will be published each week here: Key Match Incident Review Panel Outcomes | Referees | Scottish FA

(Image: SNS Group)

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"The creation of the KMI panel is the latest step in the Scottish FA’s commitment to improved transparency and efficiency in refereeing and knowledge and understanding of the use of VAR in Scottish football.

"It follows the launch last week of the Scottish FA’s Var Review, a monthly show with behind-the-scenes insight on the big decisions across Scottish football hosted on the Scottish FA’s YouTube channel.

"The VAR Review features matchday audio between on-field referees and the VARs in Clydesdale House. It examines the decisions made – whether they are right or wrong – and how those decisions are reached."