ARSENE Wenger believes referees must make better use of pitch-side reviews if VAR is to become a success.

The Premier League has been dogged by a succession of contentious decisions, prompted by VAR reviews this season, leading to calls for it to be overhauled or scrapped altogether.

Decisions have been criticised for disallowing goals based on fractional offside calls, with several minutes sometimes elapsing before a final call is made.

And the former Arsenal manager stressed that if the system is to recover its credibility, referees must make use of the facility to review decisions themselves, rather than rely on checks being made by officials in Stockley Park.

“That, for me, is the most important worry,” Wenger said, after a meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in Belfast, as reported by Sky Sports.

“The referee needs to have a monitor to check if he was right or wrong. He will gain in credibility, especially, knowing that the people at VAR have yet the experience to make these kinds of decisions. He has a review to see if he was right or wrong. That is important for his confidence as well.

“At the moment, you have two big clubs (Manchester United and Liverpool) with no screens. That is a problem that has to be resolved as well in the future.”

Leicester City’s 2-1 win against Everton on Sunday was the latest game to be dominated by a VAR decision.

The Foxes’ Kelechi Iheanacho was originally given offside after curling in what had looked to be a stoppage-time winner, but the decision was overturned by the video referee after a lengthy delay.

“I think it’s working much better than we think,” Wenger added. “You want VAR to intervene at the right moment. They are not the ones who should make the decisions but the ones who help the referees make the right decisions.”

One option currently under discussion to develop the VAR system would allow referees to communicate directly to supporters and explain their decisions.

This may involve supporters hearing a final decision, and brief explanation, from a referee, but fans would still be unable to listen to match officials during the decision-making process.

“I would like the decision to be explained on the screen,” said Wenger. (Goal.com)