Former Juventus keeper and skipper
Gianluigi Buffon got a three-match UEFA ban for his red card and
subsequent statements against referee Michael Oliver after the
official awarded a last-minute winning penalty to Real Madrid in
their Champions League quarterfinal on April 11.
Buffon, who retired from playing last month but has been
linked to PSG for another season or two, said Oliver had a
"trash can in place of a heart" in giving Real the penalty
Cristiano Ronaldo slotted home for an aggregate win after Juve
had staged a remarkable 3-0 recovery at the Bernabeu and looked
to be heading into extra time.
On May 17 - Buffon admitted he had "gone too far" in jostling
and shouting at Oliver and the subsequent trash can statement.
"In the night of Madrid off the field I certainly went too
far and I'm extremely sorry," he said.
"If I had met the ref Oliver two days later I would have
embraced him, asking for his forgiveness, confirming however
that he could have been a bit less stern for such an important
match for us and for myself personally. But I don't bear any
grudge.
The match looked set to go to extra time after the Serie A
champions staged a stunning comeback, going ahead 3-0 on the
night to pull level on aggregate, thanks to a double by Mario
Mandzukic and a Blaise Matuidi goal stemming from a blunder by
Real's goalkeeper.
But Juve's hopes were dashed when Ronaldo converted a
93rd-minute penalty after Lucas Vazquez went down when
challenged from behind by Medhi Benatia.
An April 16, five days after the match, FIFA refereeing
supreme Massimo Busacca scolded Buffon for saying Oliver should
have thought of the moment in the match.
"The ref is a job where you have to decide in less than
a second and you can't think about many things," Busacca told
Premium Sport over a decision many Bianconeri fans thought was
wrong but most neutrals deemed correct.
"It's like for goalkeepers, you have to save with your
instinct without thinking, and it's the same for us.
"We have to focus on the decision of the moment, which is
already tough to take."
Buffon said Oliver should have been more "sensitive" to the
moment in the match.
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