Kuala Lumpur, Nov 15 (IANS): The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system will be used at next year's Asian Cup from the quarterfinal stage, it was announced here after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) decided to approve it.

The AFC Referees Committee agreed to introduce the VAR for the final seven matches of the tournament, which stars in the United Arab Emirates in January, an ESPNFC report said.

The Asian Cup, which has been expanded to a record 24 nations, will see the usage of VAR for the first time.

"The decision to include VAR was only made on September 26 and that has meant a tremendous amount of work has been required to ensure that it can play a role at the tournament from the quarterfinal stages," AFC general secretary Dato' Windsor John said.

VAR was used for the first time at this year's World Cup in Russia.

Since then, it has been used from the quarterfinals of South America's premier club competition -- the Copa Libertadores -- this year.