Craig Pawson
The independent Key Match Incidents panel has reviewed 64 of those matches and confirmed 11 errors in them. Everything below is a count: RefCard publishes errors, not an accuracy percentage, because no source publishes the denominator such a figure would need.
Season by season
| Season | Matches | Fouls/game | Yellows/game | Reds/game | Penalties | Confirmed errors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | 2 | 27.5 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025-26 | 21 | 21.7 | 2.67 | 0.10 | 5 | 6 |
| 2024-25 | 22 | 22.6 | 4.41 | 0.14 | 5 | 1 |
| 2023-24 | 19 | 21.9 | 4.53 | 0.16 | 6 | 3 |
| 2022-23 | 21 | 23.9 | 3.76 | 0.05 | —‡ | — |
| 2021-22 | 26 | 22.1 | 4.12 | 0.08 | —‡ | — |
| 2020-21 | 23 | 24.0 | 3.43 | 0.13 | —‡ | — |
| 2019-20 | 23 | 25.2 | 3.65 | 0.09 | —‡ | — |
| 2018-19 | 26 | 20.0 | 3.54 | 0.27 | —‡ | — |
| 2017-18 | 24 | 20.6 | 3.38 | 0.17 | —‡ | — |
| 2016-17 | 24 | 24.8 | 3.92 | 0.17 | —‡ | — |
| 2015-16 | 28 | 21.2 | 3.11 | 0.07 | —‡ | — |
| 2014-15 | 21 | 23.3 | 3.29 | 0.33 | —‡ | — |
| 2013-14 | 10 | 24.6 | 2.80 | 0.00 | —‡ | — |
| 2012-13 | 1 | 26.0 | 2.00 | 0.00 | —‡ | — |
Confirmed errors are only available from 2023-24, when the Key Match Incidents panel began. Earlier seasons show the disciplinary record only. ‡ Penalties are recorded from 2023-24 onward; a dash means the figure was never collected for that season, not that none were given.
Cards and fouls
The career average is 3.60 yellow cards a game, against a league median of 3.67 for rated referees, on 22.7 fouls a game.
Added time
7.9 minutes of second-half added time on average, against a league median of 7.2. A model of each match's substitutions, cards and goals expects 7.3 from these fixtures — more than those stoppages predict.
Added time is captured from 2024-25 onward, over the 37 matches where we hold it — a shorter window than the figures above.
Club by club
Every club refereed at least three times, with that club's own record in those matches and the cards it took.
| Club | Matches | W–D–L | Yellows | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle | 38 | 12–13–13 | 59 | 1.55 |
| Liverpool | 36 | 24–8–4 | 44 | 1.22 |
| Manchester United | 35 | 16–9–10 | 68 | 1.94 |
| Everton | 32 | 6–9–17 | 56 | 1.75 |
| Tottenham | 32 | 16–5–11 | 74 | 2.31 |
| Arsenal | 31 | 17–5–9 | 45 | 1.45 |
| Leicester | 29 | 9–5–15 | 53 | 1.83 |
| Aston Villa | 26 | 6–8–12 | 58 | 2.23 |
| Chelsea | 26 | 15–4–7 | 49 | 1.88 |
| Manchester City | 26 | 19–4–3 | 40 | 1.54 |
| West Ham | 24 | 10–7–7 | 44 | 1.83 |
| Crystal Palace | 23 | 6–7–10 | 43 | 1.87 |
| Brighton | 22 | 8–7–7 | 40 | 1.82 |
| Bournemouth | 21 | 7–4–10 | 41 | 1.95 |
| Wolves | 20 | 8–6–6 | 46 | 2.30 |
| Southampton | 19 | 8–6–5 | 34 | 1.79 |
| Stoke | 16 | 6–5–5 | 25 | 1.56 |
| Burnley | 16 | 3–4–9 | 28 | 1.75 |
| Watford | 15 | 1–3–11 | 30 | 2.00 |
| Fulham | 13 | 2–3–8 | 20 | 1.54 |
| Sunderland | 12 | 1–3–8 | 23 | 1.92 |
| Nottingham Forest | 11 | 2–4–5 | 22 | 2.00 |
| Swansea | 10 | 6–1–3 | 10 | 1.00 |
| West Brom | 8 | 3–2–3 | 12 | 1.50 |
| Brentford | 7 | 4–2–1 | 12 | 1.71 |
| Norwich | 6 | 2–0–4 | 13 | 2.17 |
| Leeds | 6 | 0–2–4 | 15 | 2.50 |
| Cardiff | 4 | 1–1–2 | 6 | 1.50 |
| Hull | 4 | 1–0–3 | 8 | 2.00 |
| QPR | 4 | 1–1–2 | 7 | 1.75 |
| Huddersfield | 4 | 2–0–2 | 9 | 2.25 |
| Middlesbrough | 3 | 0–0–3 | 9 | 3.00 |
The W–D–L is the club's. Nothing here is evidence of bias — a difference this size is what chance looks like. See how that was measured.
Panel review
2026-27
4 of Craig Pawson’s decisions were reviewed by the panel this season — 3 upheld, 1 ruled incorrect.
At VAR, the same 4 decisions: 4 correct, 0 incorrect. The VAR overturned 1 of them. The VAR layer is a separate official’s work and is never attributed to the referee.
1 further decision in these matches was led by an assistant referee. The League names the role and not the official, so it is counted for the match and not against a referee.
- Manchester United v Ipswich · 35:59 — Sending off dismissal not given. Challenge by Fatawu (IPS) on Mbuemo (MUN)
The panel upheld (5-0). “The referee's call of no red card for a challenge by Fatawu on Mbuemo was unanimously supported as correct. The challenge was low, reckless, and lacking the excessive force required for serious foul play.” - Manchester United v Ipswich · 42:34 — Penalty not awarded. Challenge by O'Shea (IPS) on Tielemans (MUN)
The panel upheld (5-0). “The referee's call of no penalty was supported. There was an arm placed on the back of Tielemans, but far below the threshold for a penalty.” - Manchester United v Ipswich · 55:55 — KMI Goal awarded. Handball appeal against Maguire (MUN)
The panel upheld (4-1). “Maguire's arms are within his bodyline meaning that the contact with his right arm was accidental and not a punishable handball offence given that Maguire was not the goal scorer. The shot was clearly off target and then deflected in via the defender for a clear own goal. The panel supported the referee's call to award the goal, 4:1, with one panellist considering the handball to be deliberate.” - Nottingham Forest v Tottenham · 65:00 — KMI Goal awarded. Handball appeal against Williams (NFO)
The panel ruled incorrect (0-5). “The VAR intervention to disallow the goal for an accidental handball offence by Williams was supported. The ball factually makes contact with Williams on the arm before going directly into the goal.”
Panel-confirmed errors
- 2026-27 · Nottingham Forest v Tottenham · 66' — corrected; The VAR intervention to disallow the goal for an accidental handball offence by Williams was supported. The ball factually makes contact with Williams on the arm before going directly into the goal.
- 2025-26 · Brentford v Manchester United · 71' — VAR missed an on-field error
- 2025-26 · Liverpool v Brighton · 45' — on-field error below the clear-and-obvious threshold
- 2025-26 · Bournemouth v Brentford — on-field error below the clear-and-obvious threshold
- 2025-26 · Bournemouth v Brentford · 48' — on-field error below the clear-and-obvious threshold
- 2025-26 · Brentford v West Ham — VAR missed an on-field error
- 2025-26 · Brentford v West Ham — on-field error below the clear-and-obvious threshold
- 2024-25 · Newcastle v West Ham · 72' — on-field error below the clear-and-obvious threshold