In a press conference held before his nation played England in a friendly at Wembley Stadium last night - the first match in Britain to have VAR available - Wagner was unequivocal in his view that the ongoing trial of the technology has not been a success.

"In itself, it's a good thing, but the implementation has been a disaster," the 29-year-old Hoffenheim forward said.

It is hard to argue. The need for technology in football, particularly with the vast sums of money involved in the club game and the consequences that entails, is plain to see but the ongoing trial has seemingly worsened, rather than improved, the case for its full introduction before next year's World Cup in Russia.

After all, it has been a tumultuous birth for VAR since it was authorised by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) - the game’s lawmakers - back in 2016.

It is in Germany where the main concerns have arisen, and these were exacerbated on Monday (November 6) with the unceremonious dismissal of Hellmut Krug, the German Football Association's (DFB) VAR project manager who led the Bundesliga's main control centre in Cologne, amid claims he influenced decisions in favour of Schalke, the team he supports.

German newspaper Bild claimed Krug twice intervened to help Schalke with penalty decisions in a 1-1 draw with Wolfsburg back in October. Although the German official denies the allegations, his alleged misdemeanours demonstrated how the current system is open to possible manipulation, fuelling the fire of those in the country who have criticised the technology throughout the season.

Krug had been at the centre of further controversy regarding the technology in Germany earlier this month when it emerged that Bundesliga VARs were given secret instructions in mid-September to change the way they use video replays in their decision-making.

Sports magazine Kicker had got their hands on a letter from the DFB's head of the refereeing committee Lutz Michael Fröhlich and Krug, which told the VARs to contact the referee whenever they felt the on-match official had made a mistake.

This came despite the fact the VARs were only supposed to use the technology in match-changing decisions, such as to decide whether or not to award a goal or a penalty, for straight red cards and in cases of mistaken player identity.

It marked the latest in a long-line of tribulations with the VAR system in Germany, which has prompted a fierce backlash from fans and clubs who have simply had enough of the countless errors, the time it takes for the technology to make a decision and the overall effect it is having on their enjoyment of the so-called beautiful game.

VAR is supposed to be beneficial to the sport, not detrimental. It is supposed to help and not hinder.

The players, too, are becoming gradually more concerned.

"The way it is used at the moment, it is not good," said Germany midfielder Sami Khedira.

"It will be good if we manage to regulate it better, but at the moment, it's a disaster. I have the feeling that the referees are overwhelmed.

"It's all a big jumble, in the Bundesliga and also in Serie A. The players do not know anymore whether or not to celebrate after a goal. A lot of emotion and passion has been lost."

Ironically, the issues in Germany came to a head in a week where Northern Ireland were crying out for VAR after they were the victim of what manager Michael O’Neill claimed was the worst decision he had ever seen during the first leg of his side's World Cup qualification play-off against Switzerland in Belfast.

FIFA has not yet approved the use of VAR in World Cup qualifiers, meaning the match was played the old-fashioned way - without technology.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, of course, but how the Northern Ireland players must have wished that was not the case on Thursday (November 9) night.

With the tense encounter finely-poised at 0-0, Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan awarded a penalty against Corry Evans for deliberate handball, despite the Northern Irish defender standing mere yards away from where Xherdan Shaqiri struck his volley.

What is even worse is that the ball hit Evans on the shoulder and back. It was not difficult to see why the players were incandescent with rage at the decision and their anger was compounded when Ricardo Rodríguez dispatched the penalty to put his side 1-0 up in the two-legged tie.

It was a decision that may cost Northern Ireland, known for their plucky, never-say-die attitude, a place at the 2018 tournament and it was a decision which could have been avoided had VAR been in play.

"I am not in a position to say the referee is incompetent but it's just staggering in this day and age when the stakes are so high that something like that is a game-changer," O’Neill said after the match.

"The ball clearly strikes Corry on the back and the referee has a clear view of the incident. I thought he had given an offside or something.

"I spent three hours in a video conference with FIFA the other week on VAR and certainly when you see what happened tonight you would be an advocate of it."

There do not seem to be many advocates of VAR around these days, save for chief cheerleader Gianni Infantino, the FIFA President, although there have been successes across the other 20 leagues which are trialling the technology.

Indeed IFAB head and former referee David Elleray was insistent that it had gone well thus far, telling Sky Sports News that the "detailed feedback showed that the VAR system is generally working well and football is benefitting".

Any decision corrected using VAR is a step forward for world football's governing body, but the mistakes are always going to grab a bigger share of the headlines.

It remains to be seen whether the clear problems - the delays and the reticence of some referees to use the technology to name but two - can be addressed and ironed out in time for full implementation at the World Cup.

At the moment, the chances appear bleak, and it would be seen as a disaster for Infantino if it is not up to scratch in time to be used in Russia.