BRTISH football has been late to the VAR party.

Personally, I think that’s a pity and wish Scotland had been a bit more forward in volunteering its services as a willing participant in this international experiment. Video assistance is by no means perfect and has its flaws but crucially helps referees get the big decisions correct.

I realise many of you will have been watching a game with VAR as part of the equation for the first time earlier this week. The Brighton v Crystal Palace FA Cup tie saw it makes its debut in a club game on British soil.

However I’m going to claim an advantage over most of you. Working regularly in Germany, I’ve seen it and commentated on it for several months now. The Bundesliga has been using VAR in every game since the start of the season after a full scale “off line” trial period last term.

So what is the verdict 4 months in? It’s a mixed bag in fairness although I remain a big proponent.

Perhaps we should start with a reminder of where VAR can come into play.

Firstly around a goal. In Germany these are automatically checked to see if for example there was a foul, or an offside decision that was missed. Secondly, when it comes a straight red card offence. Thirdly regarding a penalty award either wrongly given or not spotted. Lastly there is mistaken identity.

In all cases, there must be irrefutable evidence that the original decision was wrong. In other words, it’s not enough to suspect that it might be wrong. It must be clear and obvious. This is often where the fun starts.

In the Bundesliga, the VAR is situated not at the stadium but in a control centre in Cologne. Assisted by technicians, he has access to numerous angles and is in constant communication with the referee on the pitch.

In many other countries using VAR such as the USA, the referee is encouraged to take a look at big moments himself and then make a judgement. Germany has been more encouraging of the VAR letting the ref know that he has erred and taking his colleague’s word for that. This has the effect of speeding things up.

However there was a noticeable trend towards the referee himself viewing key incidents in the weeks leading up to the winter break. The closing seconds in the Stuttgart v Bayern game last month provided incredible drama, enhanced not impaired by VAR. Referee Patrick Ittrich incorrectly waved play on despite a clear Stuttgart penalty. Informed of this by the Cologne replay centre, Ittrich marched out to the halfway line monitor and was able to correct his earlier decision immediately.

Stuttgart failed to score from the spot, thus going down 1-0 but it was a great advert for VAR.

Other moments have been less supportive, including a clear dive by Mainz attacker Pablo de Blasis, which saw a spot kick given and then remarkably, upheld upon further review. On another occasion, Freiburg defender Caglar Söyüncü was erroneously sent off thanks to VAR.

In a poll of Bundesliga players conducted by the influential Kicker magazine, there was deep division with about half against VAR and the other half in favour.

The big difficulty is that human interpretation remains part of the decision making process. Many have speculated that this takes all the fun out of football, the constant debates back and forth. I would argue that these discussions are still very much in play in the Bundesliga.

The question of what constitutes a clear and obvious error lies at the heart of this.

The Bundesliga statistics show that 75% of mistakes in the relevant categories listed earlier in this piece, have been corrected thanks to VAR. 100% would be better still but surely three quarters of a loaf is preferable to no loaf at all. We are heading in the right direction at least.

What I would say is preparation is key. It’s difficult to go to referees and tell them, you’ll be using video assistance next week. It’s something that requires careful planning and getting everyone on the same wavelength. I would think most refs would welcome it as it will certainly lengthen careers. But in Germany they have discovered that there is a learning process in making assessments based on TV pictures. Slow motion can exaggerate things.

Indications are VAR will be in place for the World Cup in Russia this summer. Scotland must ready itself for its eventual arrival too.