Premier League match officials would be in favour of replays of VAR incidents being shown on screens in the stadium to improve the experience for supporters by giving them a much better understanding of the review process and the reason why the game is being held up.

In a move that is unlikely to prove popular with David Elleray, who was charged with drawing up how VAR will operate in his role as the technical director of the International Football Association Board, the Guardian has learned there is a growing acceptance among leading match officials that showing replays in relation to VAR would be more of a help than a hindrance.

The use of VAR has proved controversial in English football this season and one of the issues to have emerged is that fans attending matches where the technology is in place are often left in the dark as to why a decision is being reviewed, sometimes resulting in lengthy delays where they sit in silence with no access to any footage, in stark contrast to those watching at home.

Quick guide VAR milestones and controversies Show Hide Brighton 2-1 Crystal Palace, FA Cup , 8 January 2018 The first competitive game in England where VAR technology was available. The system was not called upon despite suspicions of handball in Glenn Murray’s late winner. Leicester 2-0 Fleetwood, FA Cup, 16 January Leicester became the first team in English football to score via a VAR decision. Kelechi Iheanacho netted in the 77th minute but the referee asked to check if the forward was offside. Replays showed he was not and the strike stood. Chelsea 1-1 Norwich (Chelsea 5-3 pens), FA Cup, 17 January Willian was clearly clipped by Timm Klose in extra-time, although the referee might have decided the Chelsea forward was already going to ground. Despite the VAR official watching a number of replays, no penalty was given. Liverpool 2-3 West Brom, FA Cup, 27 January A match littered with VAR referrals that confused players and fans. Three first-half incidents required intervention – including the first time a match referee has used a pitchside television replay. The correct decisions were made but it took almost four minutes between Mohamed Salah being fouled and a penalty being awarded. Tottenham 6-1 Rochdale, FA Cup replay, 28 February Érik Lamela thought he had put Tottenham ahead only for the VAR to controversially rule it out. Lucas Moura was then felled in the area, with no penalty the eventual – but far from definitive – decision, before Spurs were awarded a spot-kick when Kieran Trippier was held back. To add to the tone of slapstick Son Heung-min, having paused during his run-up, had his successful penalty disallowed – again by the VAR. Photograph: David Klein/X06540

In the eighth version of the Ifab’s guidelines on the implementation of VAR, it states that “in principle” replays of incidents that are being reviewed should not be shown in the stadium. Although the advice in that section goes on to say that “it is very strongly recommended that, as a minimum, a message appears on the stadium screen announcing that a review is taking place”, it is fairly clear that the Ifab is opposed to showing footage of the incident in question to everyone in the ground.

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That section reads: “Very careful consideration should be given to whether, within existing competition protocols, replay footage is shown as this may cause negative reactions, security issues etc, especially where the incident/decision is not clear-cut. In principle, replays of incidents which are or have been reviewed should not be shown on screens in the stadium.”

Although Premier League clubs are not allowed to show footage of replays of controversial incidents on stadium screens at the moment, there is a school of thought that VAR reviews are a different case, not least because the officials should, in theory, arrive at the correct decision come the end. Displaying the images would also demonstrate to the supporters why the game has been stopped for a review and, in doing so, involve them in the process to an extent.

Leaving aside the supporter experience inside the stadium, the time that elapses while an incident is being reviewed is seen as a problem in itself and has led to plenty of criticism. Match officials are confident, however, that the speed of the decision-making in relation to VAR will improve with more training and practice.

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All the top-flight match officials are due to convene at Stockley Park in London this month for a meeting that will be solely dedicated to VAR and with a view to trying to streamline a process that has prompted several Premier League managers and players to voice their disapproval, raising questions about whether the time is right for video technology to become a permanent fixture in English football.

The Premier League clubs will meet in April to vote on the introduction of VAR for the start of next season, with a two-thirds majority required for it to be rolled out from August. It is understood that Swansea, Stoke and Huddersfield are among those to be undecided at present and to harbour some reservations about VAR, although the feeling among other clubs is that teething problems can be resolved and enough of the league’s members will vote in favour to get it over the line.

Peter Coates, Stoke’s chairman, told the Guardian that he was initially in favour of embracing VAR but admitted he has since become “less and less enamoured” by the idea. “When we were discussing it at Premier League level, my opinion was ‘yes’, provided it was limited to certain key areas and that’s all,” Coates said. “But I didn’t realise – well, so far, to me – how poorly it is actually operated in practice. I’m completely against this long delay. That’s not how we thought it would work. We thought there would be hardly any delay.”