It could take up to ten years for VAR to be perfect, according to the game's law-makers.

The new rules have come into play in the English Premier League this season and already sparked calls for reconsideration after controversy involving Manchester City two weeks in a row.

City striker Gabriel Jesus scored what he believed to be the winner against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend only for referee Michael Oliver to rule it out after deliberation from VAR officials.

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Pep Guardiola refused to criticise the decision too heavily however fellow Premier League manager Nuno Espirito Santo said VAR is "ruining the spirit of the game" after his side had a goal chalked off against Leicester.

Now the International Football Association Board (IFAB) have warned that VAR could take a decade to fully understand and get to grips with as law-makers continue to search for the perfect way of working with it.

IFAB secretary Lukas Brud said, via VAR from Perfect: "The Premier League was observing the development of VAR for a long time because it is one of - if not the - most important league competition in the world and the most viewed competition in the world. 

"They didn’t want to be part of the experimental phase and wanted to avoid being a guinea pig."

When asked if it was the last hurdle to overcome before VAR becomes a recognised part of football around the world, he added: “In terms of top level competitions, yes.

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"They have taken their time to use it and wanted to see how it works.

"The VAR concept is still at the beginning. We talked to other sports and everyone told us this is a 10-year project until people really understand how it works."

Top level referees have also reportedly come forward to tell of their love for the new laws.

Mr Brud added: "Referees report back to us that this is something they have always wanted, for various reasons.

"Every single referee has said to us ‘for us, it’s great. We don’t have to be afraid of killing our careers’. 

"They will have someone to fall back on and they love it."

IFAB's results have improved in the A-League since VAR was introduced in 2017 with decision-making improved by five per cent.

In the 800 matches that were studied between 2016-2018, around one minute of game time was lost for every review - with 271 matches forced to have at least one review in the 90 minutes and, on average, there were more than five checks per match.