England's Marcus Rashford says VAR can benefit football, but it must be improved

Marcus Rashford has backed Video Assistant Referees will be good for football but says they must improve after England were denied at least one clear penalty in their World Cup opener against Tunisia.

The African side were awarded a penalty when Kyle Walker elbowed Fakhreddine Ben Youssef, while the Three Lions were twice denied what could’ve been penalties, specifically the first incident when captain Harry Kane was wrestled to the floor.

VAR has become the key talking point in Russia so far, with nine penalties having been awarded already.

The Premier League have voted against the technology coming in next season, and while Rashford says it is something that is good for football, it must improve.

"The idea of bringing it into the game is spot on," he said.

"It will improve with time because there are some decisions - like the ones you said - where they have to at least check whether or not it's a penalty.

"That's down to them to decide but at least they should check those. I'm sure it's something they can improve on.

"We've not talked about last night specifically, but we've had conversations about it previously.

"It's a tough one because I think it's something that the game definitely needed. As with everything it needs improving and I think it will improve in time."