REVEALED: The Premier League’s new nerve centre for deciding dubious goals and keeping the game going when things go wrong

The Premier League have set up a new operational hub to oversee the smooth running of the division on match days.

Based at IMG’s offices in Stockley Park near Heathrow, the match centre is designed to deal with any potential or actual disruption that occurs at matches across the English top flight.

The match centre has a live feed of every Premier League game as they occur to ensure that those overseeing it miss nothing.

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), who provide referees for all fixtures in the top four divisions, have a representative in the office. They provide media with clarification on decisions by match officials.

Simon Morgan, the Premier League’s head of football relations, believes the centre is proving to be a positive.

He said: ‘The first few weeks of the season have gone well, we’re always looking for ways to improve but it’s all about having a centralised focal point.

‘We have sight of everything and having that early warning system in place is crucial.

‘From an operational point of view, we ensure that there is strong communication between ourselves in the Match Centre and the Match Managers on the ground at each stadium.

‘So if we have an incident, like last season at the West Ham United against Manchester United match [where there was a late kick-off] or the Manchester United against Bournemouth match [which was postponed due to a security threat], we are in a good place to ensure that the right people are doing the right things.’

The match centre also features the famous goal accreditation panel. That means the process of deciding the ultimate scorer of a strike has been streamlined.

If the identity of a goalscorer is up for debate, a three-man panel – usually consisting of a PGMOL representative and two football experts – reviews the strike.

That decision is then passed onto Opta and the Premier League’s digital outlets.