The IFAB, football's lawmakers, formally endorsed the use of VAR in the professional game during its Annual General Meeting at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich.

"As of today video assistant refereeing is part of football," FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who chaired the meeting, said.

A decision on whether VAR will feature at the World Cup in Russia is set to be made when FIFA's ruling Council meets in the Colombian capital of Bogotá on March 16.

This is expected to be a formality, with Infantino spearheading the charge for the use of VAR at the tournament.

The confirmation from IFAB was widely expected despite criticism of the technology during a problem-ridden trial phase.

It has been claimed VAR - which can only be used to determine whether there is a goal or not, a penalty or no penalty, straight red cards or incidents of mistaken identity - causes confusion among fans and players.

Other critics have said the technology undermines the on-field referee and disrupts the flow of the game.

In a statement, the IFAB said the philosophy of VARs is "minimum interference – maximum benefit".

It aims to reduce unfairness caused by "clear and obvious errors" or "serious missed incidents", the body - comprised of representatives from the Football Associations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and FIFA, added.

Infantino claimed results of the various VAR studies conducted were "conclusive".

The IFAB claimed analysis had found that the average accuracy of the reviewable categories was 93 per cent before the experiments, rising to 98.9 per cent with VAR.

More than half of the checks were for penalty incidents and goals, with an average of less than five uses per match.

It was found that VAR had a positive impact in eight per cent of matches, with an average of one clear and obvious error in every three games.

"We are living in a digital age and we cannot be oblivious to technological advances," the FIFA President added. 

"And if we can help referees the world over who are engaged in a difficult task, correct mistakes that can occur, we will have made a great decision.

"We came to the conclusion that VAR is good for football and is good for refereeing and brings more fairness.

"I would say to fans, players and coaches, of course it will have an impact on matches at the World Cup, it will have a positive impact."

The decision comes after La Liga, the top professional league in Spain graced by stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, confirmed they would use VAR from next season.

UEFA decided against implementing the controversial technology into the Champions League, Europe's main club competition.

Several of Europe's top divisions have been trialling the use of VAR throughout the season, with differing levels of success.