Alternative 2026/27 Premier League Table: What the table looks like without VAR errors after Gameweek 4

VAR was, again, at the centre of controversy in the Premier League over the weekend. Erling Haaland’s goal in Manchester City’s eventual 1-0 win at Manchester United was given despite the Norwegian being flagged offside.

The Video Assistant Referee reviewed the footage and deemed that Haaland was in an onside position when Josko Gvardiol’s cross came in. However, midfielder Enzo Fernandez was clearly offside, and his effort to head past Senne Lammens meant the goal should have been chalked off.

This week’s LiveScore Have Your Say poll saw 56% of voters felt the VAR’s decision was incorrect. What’s more, 140.6k LiveScore users voted in a poll asking whether VAR should be scrapped. Of those, 63% felt it’s time to can the Video Assistant Referee after their latest mistake.

In theory, then, City should have two fewer points after Sunday’s action rather than be level with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, at least that’s in the opinion of LiveScore users.

LiveScore Have Your Say Poll Result: Should Haaland’s winner in Manchester derby have stood?

But just how would the table look without VAR errors? Well, using the Premier League’s Key Match Incident (KMI) panel outcomes, we’ve formulated just how England’s top tier should look.

What is the KMI Panel and Pro Ref?

Before we get into the nitty gritty number crunching, first we’ll look into the Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel.

The KMI Panel was created by Premier League clubs in 2022, and convene every week to dissect every major decision, ranging from goals, to penalties, to red cards.

It doesn’t look into every incident, but rather takes into account the laws of the game and assesses how Premier League games should be officiated. The KMI Panel first looks at the decision of the referee, then the VAR.

The KMI Panel consists of five individuals, which are selected on a rotational basis, meaning the same person won’t be on the panel with each passing week to maintain impartiality.

The members are never revealed but consist of three former players or coaches, one representative from the Premier League and Professional Game Referees (Pro Ref).

Pro Ref, meanwhile, is the body that oversees all Premier League, English Football League, Women’s Super League and FA competitions.

They are funded by the competition it serves to deliver a long-term match-officiating strategy, with Chief Refereeing Officer, and former FIFA referee, Howard Webb often serving as the face of ProRef.

KMI Panel Results

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

What that means is that only gameweeks one through three are available for viewing, while gameweek four will be available next week once relevant incidents have been reviewed by the KMI Panel. As such, the current VAR table factors in the gameweek four results but not the KMI Panel outcomes upon review.

VAR Table

For best results on mobile view, please rotate your device horizontally.

Winner and Losers

Were the VAR table put into practice, then Brentford and Liverpool would be the biggest winners. The pair would rise four places in the table with an extra two points to boot, placing them third and fourth, respectively.

Newcastle United and Manchester United, meanwhile, would each have an additional one point to their name.

Leeds United would be the biggest losers, with four fewer points, which would put the Whites down in seventh rather than in third spot. Elsewhere, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest would have two fewer points, while Hull City and Brighton & Hove Albion would both have one fewer point.

Decisions For and Against

Across the opening three gameweeks, a total of 13 Premier League teams haven’t had a KMI Panel decision for or against them.

The decision ledger states: Against means a final match decision ruled incorrect by the KMI Panel disadvantaged the team.

For means the final error benefited the team.

Calls corrected by VAR are excluded. A positive net figure indicates a greater disadvantage; a negative figure indicates a greater benefit.

With that, Arsenal have the largest disadvantage, with two errors against them. Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool have all had one error against them.

At the other end of the table, Aston Villa may have endured a tough start to the season, but it would have been a lot worse. The Villans, after all, have benefited from three errors. Leeds United and Nottingham Forest have both benefited from one error.