The Premier League Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel has now given its verdict on this much talked about incident concerning Newcastle United.
The KMI panel has five members, made up of three former players and/or coaches, plus one representative each from the Premier League and PGMOL (Now ‘Pro Ref’).
It was set up at the start of the 2022/23 season to give an independent assessment of decision-making rather than relying on the views of PGMOL or the clubs themselves.
The judgement is intended to provide an arm’s-length assessment of all major match incidents but gives weight to the decision of the referee in subjective situations, taking into account the laws of the game and the Premier League’s interpretation.
The Premier League Key Match Incidents Panel have looked at the Newcastle United v Aston Villa match that was played on Saturday 17 October 2026 and voted on this much talked about incident.
Incident: Sending-off dismissal not given. Challenge by Sven Botman on Nicolas Jackson (18min)
On-field decision outcome: Incorrect – Serious foul play by Botman (1 vote for; 4 votes against)
VAR intervention outcome: Correct (3:2).
KMI Panel: This was a split decision, with the majority of the panel feeling that a red card for serious foul play should have been awarded, 4:1. Botman was out of control, lunging at speed, making forceful contact with Jackson despite his leading leg missing the Villa attacker. The non-VAR intervention was supported, 3:2, on the basis it was not a clear and obvious error.
So can it still be considered serious foul play even if the player makes contact with the ball first?
The official guidance…
‘When contact is made with the opponent after playing the ball, the officials have to take the following considerations into account: if there is a controlled action to play the ball, if there is available space into which challenge is made, an awareness of and consideration for the opponent, and whether the challenge is clearly reckless or involves excessive force/endangers safety.
In this instance, the panel deemed that Sven Botman lunged into a challenge at speed and made contact with Nicolas Jackson, which therefore meant he should have been shown a red card on field for serious foul play.
However, as highlighted by the panel vote, they did believe this was not a clear and obvious error given the high VAR threshold for intervention in the Premier League.’