The defender was sidelined on Monday after the panel found he had deliberately handled the ball during the Jets' 0-5 loss to Melbourne Victory.

Vidmar said the decision against D'Apuzzo was a 'bit harsh'.

"In that case if the referee has missed it then it's a bit of bad luck," Vidmar said.

"I certainly think for something like that, and the referee has missed it (the decision is harsh), but something much more dangerous like a tackle or an elbow behind play it should certainly be dealt with.

"They've certainly set a precedent that anything that happens will get punished."

Despite his criticism of the decision, Vidmar said the review panel 'had a lot of merit'.

The South Australian coach said there was always going to be a few hiccups in its formative stages.

"They need to find their feet where the more sinister ones are going to get punished where the ones we had with D'Apuzzo and the hand ball that's something the referee has missed and too bad and you can't go back to it in my opinion," he said.

"I certainly agree with the process, there's no question they had to do that."

Vidmar said the panel would also keep referees accountable for their performances on the pitch.

"I think now they are going to be more in the eye of the public and anything that happens on the park is certainly going to be dealt with," he said.

"Now they are accountable, the players have been accountable for the last three or four years...it'll make them better referees because you only learn from mistakes.

"That might lead into full-time referees, who knows?"