Video assistant referees are set to be used in the English Premier League as of the 2019/20 season.

The Premier League will now make a formal request to the International Football Association Board and FIFA after clubs agreed in principle to their introduction.

The Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A are already using VAR, which allows disputed incidents to be reviewed with the use of video replays.

The technology was used at the World Cup in Russia this year and will be used in the Champions League from next season.

VAR has been trialled regularly in a “non-live environment” in the Premier League this season, although match officials have not been contacted by those conducting the trials.

The decision comes after contentious refereeing decisions overshadowed a 1-1 league draw between Southampton and Watford last weekend.

Clubs were given an update at a meeting on Thursday.

A statement from the Premier 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 will also be addressed.

The use of VAR was hailed as a success by FIFA after the World Cup in Russia, which saw 455 incidents checked in 64 matches at an average of 7.1 per game. Those incidents led to 20 reviews, with 17 decisions changed as a result.