Southampton’s Oriol Romeu has urged football’s rule-makers to bring in video technology after the EFL Cup final was “dramatically” altered by an erroneous offside decision.
Claude Puel’s men flew out the blocks at Wembley and found the net after just 11 minutes as Manolo Gabbiadini turned home from close range, sending the success-starved Saints fans wild.
However, the goal was wrongly ruled off for offside on an afternoon that ended with United lifting the EFL Cup thanks to a 3-2 triumph at Wembley, where the International Football Association Board will convene this Friday.
Video technology is on the agenda for the 131st annual general meeting and Romeu hopes that changes can be made to cut out such crucial errors.
“I think that makes a massive difference in the game,” the Spanish midfielder said.
“We all players will agree that we want the truth to be part and to be real in the game. If it’s a goal, it has to count. If it’s not, it can’t count.
“Sometimes it can make a massive difference in a final because leading 1-0 will change dramatically the game in the other side.
“We all want to make it clear and to have it better for all the players and for all the referees and for everyone.”
Live video trials in football were given the go-ahead by the IFAB last March, with experimentation of technology that could assist officials with game-changing decisions beginning no later than the 2017-18 season.
Asked if he thinks every player would want it brought in, Romeu added: “Oh definitely, they will agree.
“Everyone wants if it’s a goal or if it’s not a goal it has to count or it doesn’t have to count, it’s as simple as that.
“The goal disallowed is something that happens and we cannot do anything about it.
“Also the referees play their part and sometimes make mistakes and sometimes they’re all right, we cannot say anything, we all make mistakes.
“About the feelings, they are difficult, it’s a difficult game to take because it’s a final, you’re so close to winning a trophy, it’s hard to lose in the last two or three minutes of the game.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s last-gasp winner stole the headlines on a day when Gabbiadini underlined his potential at Wembley.
Having seen his opener get ruled out, the 25-year-old attacker cancelled out Ibrahimovic’s free-kick and a Jesse Lingard strike with goals either side of half-time.
“Amazing, since he came to the club he’s been very good, he scored a lot of goals,” Romeu said of Gabbiadini.
“As a teammate of him we just want to make him happy to make him keep playing like that way and to keep scoring goals.
“To be fair I think not many had seen him play before. But now since he came here he’s been very good, every time he has a chance he puts the ball in.
“That’s what we want, that’s what we need and we’re very happy.”
Gabbiadini’s displays certainly bode well for Saints, but they face a battle to stop this season petering out.
Puel’s men sit 13th with 13 league matches remaining of a topsy-turvy campaign, which is set to end a run of bettering their finish every season since returning to the top-flight in 2012.
“It’s hard [to pick ourselves up],” Romeu said ahead of Saturday’s trip to Watford.
“But we have now a week to come back and if we look into the game and the detail.
“The team has played amazingly and the way we did our jobs today we cannot say anything bad about how we played, how we came back into the game and we were so close.”
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