‘WHAT about VAR?’ is a question I get asked increasingly as it features in more Premier League games.

Well I’ve attended the presentations and watched the videos, but that doesn’t make me an expert.

Basically, it is a VAR, a Video Assistant Referee, normally a former Premier League referee, sat in front of a television screen watching the match in question.

It could be anywhere; at the World Cup in Russia, all VARs were in one building in Moscow.

It could even be in a van in the carpark.

But of course, it’s not one person or one screen.

There is a multitude of screens being viewed by other assistants. and bringing the VAR’s attention to any possible missed happenings by the on-pitch referee.

The VAR is then able to speak quickly to the referee over the intercom system, warning him there may be a problem of which he should be aware.

The idea is fine, but many have said that some of the decisions are very marginal.

My own reservation is that when VAR was introduced it was said to be used only when there was a clear and obvious error.

When a referee takes several looks at the pitchside monitor after an incident, how clear and obvious can it be?

I find I now have support from the former Premier League, World Cup final and World No. 1 referee, Howard Webb, a man steeped in VAR.

When the MLS initially decided to go ahead with VAR, they induced Howard to go to America to get it underway.

He is now general manager of the Professional Referees Organization for the MSL in northern America. and made a similar comment whilst talking to media in Canada.

He said if you have to watch an angle more than twice then it can’t be clear and obvious.

It needs to almost jump off the screen on first viewing that it’s wrong.

Put it on a screen and any reasonable minded fan will say ‘I can see why that’s overturned’.

That would certainly be an interesting test.