OFFICIAL: VAR to be used at World Cup in Russia

As anticipated the International FA Board voted for video assistant referees to be used from the World Cup this summer despite calls to delay implementation until the system has been properly ironed out.

FIFA added their own statement on the decision, saying: 'It represents a new era for football, helping to increase integrity and fairness in the game.'

Last week's comical scenes at Wembley during Tottenham's 6-1 FA cup replay win over Rochdale, which saw several controversial referrals to the VAR and led to multiple stoppages, was the latest in a string of contentious incidents across Europe.

UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin has refused to allow VARs in next season's Champions League while a number of Premier League bosses are uncomfortable with the flow of the game being interrupted leaving both fans and players totally bemused.

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish was the first to publically comment last week ahead of a vote next month that will require a two-thirds majority for VAR to be used next season in the Premier League rather than simply as an experiment in cup competitions.

'I hate all of these games that stop and start, people looking at screens, and, "What's going on?",' said Parish.

In the Bundesliga, a recent survey showed 47 per cent of players want to abolish the system.

But with Fifa president Gianni Infantino driving the move to ensure VARs are in place for the World Cup, IFAB – comprising FIFA and the four British associations – had no hesitation in approving the most far-reaching new law since goalline technology was introduced six years ago.

Before today's vote in Zurich, IFAB technical director and former World Cup referee David Elleray said VARs were 'the most significant single change there has been' to the way football is played at the highest level.

Elleray said 40 countries have been using, trialling or are interested in VAR technology.

'Football has to decide does it want to use in a system which will bring in greater accuracy and fairness, albeit with some delay occasionally,' he said.

'Or do they want to stay where they are, where the fans are complaining that something is clearly wrong, everybody watching on television can see it was wrong, everybody in the stadium can see on their mobile phones that it was wrong, but the one person who needed to see the replay wasn't allowed to look at the replay?

'People have to decide do they want greater fairness or do they want continued unfairness because they don't want to occasional interruption?'