The use of video assistant referees (VAR) in Premier League games has been given a mark of seven out of 10 by the man in charge despite strong criticism.
Neil Swarbrick says VAR will evolve and asked for fans to be patient after another weekend of controversy.
Sheffield United had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside at Spurs while Manchester City saw two penalty appeals for handball turned down at Liverpool.
“I’m really pleased, honestly, with how we have started out,” said Swarbrick.
VAR was introduced in the Premier League this season after trials in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, but it has angered fans who cite inconsistencies in decision-making and say the time it takes for rulings to be made kills the passion and excitement of games.
Former Manchester City and England winger Trevor Sinclair believes it is is damaging the Premier League’s brand and reputation, and could even cause the best managers and players to leave.
Asked how he would rate the introduction of VAR out of 10, Swarbrick, the Premier League referees’ lead on VAR, told BBC Sport: “I’d give us around about seven-ish.
“We have more decisions correct with VAR than without it. If the mark now is seven – early days – in two years’ time I’m hoping for maybe a eight and a half or nine.
“We are open to evolving with this – it’s not a case of we’re not budging. We will listen to feedback and where we can improve things, we will do.”
It is understood the accuracy of decision making around key incidents, such as goals, red cards and penalties, has increased from 82% last season to above 90% this term.
Referees’ chief Mike Riley is expected to give an update on how the introduction of VAR has gone in a briefing to all 20 top-flight clubs at a meeting in central London on Thursday.
“I’m comfortable with where we are but there’s no doubt there’s room for improvement. It’s a work in progress,” said Swarbrick.
BBC Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has suggested there should be a time limit of between 30 seconds and a minute for VAR decisions – otherwise, the time taken would indicate it is not a clear and obvious error which needs correcting.
“I can understand what he is saying but I don’t think you can go down that line and say anything over a minute, we can’t look at,” he said.
“What would happen if you’re coming to a decision after one minute and two seconds and it’s the right decision but you’re not taking the right decision because you’re two seconds over.”
A weekend of Premier League action has yet to pass without VAR being debated by fans and trending on social media.
It is a tough job for officials but they are equipped to cope with the criticism, said Swarbrick.
“It’s hard to put into words the pressure you feel as a VAR when you’re behind the screen,” he said.
“When we brought the media in for demonstrations, and we gave them clips to look at with no pressure on them to view these incidents, they said this is really hard.
“When I was refereeing there were incidents where the referee would get criticised. It’s nothing new to us, it’s part of our fabric, our make-up, it’s what we’re kind of used to and we are very resilient in that way.
“We take criticism on board. The criticism comes from people’s opinions. I could look at an incident where I haven’t given a penalty and be quite comfortable with that. Yet everyone could be criticising me. It’s all about perspective.”
