But FA referees chief Mike Riley admitted the system, which will be unveiled at the FA Cup third-round tie between Brighton and Crystal Palace at the Amex Stadium, might take up to 3,000 games to perfect.

VAR will be used again on Wednesday for the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, and from then on in both cup competitions, but only at Premier League grounds, for the rest of this season.

Riley, who has overseen its introduction as manager of Professional Game Match Officials Limited, says the elite group of referees get 96 per cent of their decisions right, but VAR will cut those errors by half.

Screens will be installed pitchside at grounds – at the Amex tonight between both dugouts to allow referee Andre Marriner to look at incidents – and players will be booked if they encroach on the Referee Review Area and try to influence decisions, while managers can be sent to the stands.

VAR has been trialled in some 500 games around the world so far. It has been in use in MLS in the USA and in Australia for a season and a half, and in the Bundesliga and Serie A this term  and there have been glitches.

Riley said: “The idea is minimum interference but maximum benefit. The system only comes into use when there has been a clear and obvious error by the on-field refereeing team. If a check shows an error may have taken place a review will then follow. The review can be requested by the referee or recommended by the VAR.

“The VAR can inform the referee there is a factual error on a clear situation which does not require a review, such as a clear offside decision, or the VAR team can advise the referee to look at the video. This is called an On-Field Review.” 

VAR will be used for four situations: goals, red cards, penalties and mistaken identity.

There will be 15 cameras at the Amex relaying feeds to the VAR team at the ground and to a Video Operations Room in London where video referee Neil Swarbrick can direct Marriner to the screen for a second look at controversial incidents.

Riley said: “The rule is, if there is not a clear and obvious error, then leave it. There has to be room for interpretation from the referee. The rule remains still, even with VAR, the final decision always rests with the referee.

“You cannot make football a perfect game. This experiment has been going on for 18 months worldwide over some 500 games.

“We are not trying to sanitise football. In our experience, VAR has only been used once every two or three games. But we estimate that it could take up to 3,000 games to spot every potential flaw. This is a journey.

“Ultimately this will be really good for football when we’ve worked through it and ironed out all the subtleties, and it’s going to take a while.”

All elite referees have been trained in the system, and Riley briefed both Palace and Brighton players and staff on VAR last week.