MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Innovative Video Assistance Referee (VAR) systems will be put into operation at all matches of the Russian Premier League (RPL) starting with the 20th round of the 2019/2020 season, which kicks off this week, the Russian Football Union (RFU) announced on Wednesday on its Twitter page.

Following the mid-season break, the RPL Championship resumes on February 28 with the first match of the 20th round between football clubs Krylya Sovetov and Orenburg.

The VAR system was rolled out in the online mode for the very first time in RPL matches on July 21, 2019 during the league’s second-round encounter between Dynamo Moscow FC and Rubin Kazan FC (0-1). Since then the system was employed in one of the eight matches of the championship’s each round.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB), which oversees changes of regulations in the sport of football, approved in March 2016 a two-year testing period of VAR systems, which by that time had already been used at football championships of Italy, Germany and Spain.

The VAR system was tested at Russian stadiums during the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It helps a referee to ask their assistants to instantly review a controversial incident during a football match.

Alexey Sorokin, the head of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Russia-2020 and a member of the FIFA Council, stated in February 2019 that the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) was firm on its path to widely employ innovative VAR systems, including in Russia.