LONDON • The Premier League is set to use the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system from next season after clubs "agreed in principle" to the move on Thursday.

During a meeting attended by key members of all 20 league clubs, officials were presented with an update on the non-live VAR trials taking place.

They were also given "key learnings" from VAR's use in the FA Cup and League Cup this season.

VAR was used at June's World Cup in Russia, where 335 incidents were checked by officials, and is already under way in other top European leagues.

English football's top flight has been criticised for being slow to bring in the VAR system and a couple of mistakes by officials over the past week have only highlighted its absence this season.

The fallout from a wrongly disallowed goal by Charlie Austin for Southampton against Watford last Saturday appears to have added impetus to the decision.

Saints manager Mark Hughes then questioned why the league had delayed VAR's introduction, saying: "I was surprised they didn't introduce it at the beginning of this season, a lot of people were.

"All the major sports have video reviews and for some reason, the Premier League, which is watched around the world, is still in the dark ages."

Fulham were also denied an opener at Liverpool last Sunday after Aleksandar Mitrovic's header was controversially ruled offside.

A formal request will now be made to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) and Fifa, world football's governing body.

A statement from the league said its testing programme would continue for the rest of the season, "with a continued emphasis on those Saturday afternoons which have several matches being played concurrently".

How VAR decisions are communicated to fans in the stadium still needs to be addressed, with the development of a "clear protocol" yet to be established.

The league will also need to increase the number of video officials being trained as each match will require both a VAR and an assistant VAR.

Former top-flight referee Mark Halsey, however, praised the decision, telling BBC Radio Five Live: "It is a good thing.

"I know a lot of people are against it, but we've got to embrace it now and move forward.

"We've seen this season a number of incidents that have been called wrong, especially (last) weekend when there were a number of goals ruled out when they shouldn't have been.

"The referees will still want to go out and get the key match decisions right, it's very important that referees are not hiding behind the VAR.

"They're still going to be making these big calls correctly."

The VAR can be used in only four game-changing situations when there is a possibility of a clear error - for goals, penalties, red cards and cases of mistaken identity.

It can advise the referee of an error and the referee can also consult replays himself on a pitch-side monitor.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE TIMES, LONDON