Gianluigi Buffon launched an extraordinary attack on referee Michael Oliver, labelling him a ‘murderer’ and accusing him of having ‘no heart in his chest’ after Juventus were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid.
Buffon was left furious after Juve clawed back a three-goal first-leg deficit at the Bernabeu, only for Oliver to award the hosts a penalty in the 93rd minute for Mehdi Benatia’s challenge on Lucas Vazquez.
The veteran goalkeeper fumed at Oliver after the decision and was sent off for his aggressive reaction, which saw him scream and point his hand in the English official’s face.
Cristiano Ronaldo converted the spot-kick after Buffon had departed the pitch, sending Real Madrid into the semi-finals with a 4-3 aggregate win and ending the Italy legend’s hopes of winning the Champions League for the first time in his illustrious career.
Buffon was still seething after the final whistle, as he blasted Oliver and his decisions during a passionate post-match interview.
‘It was a tenth of a penalty,’ Buffon, who was playing in his last-ever Champions League game, told Mediaset. ‘I know the referee saw, it was certainly a dubious incident.
‘And a dubious incident at the 93rd minute when we had a clear penalty denied [for a challenge on Juan Cuadrado] in the first leg, you cannot award that at this point.
‘The team gave their all, but a human being cannot destroy dreams like that at the end of an extraordinary comeback on a dubious situation.
‘Clearly you cannot have a heart in your chest, but a bin. On top of that, if you don’t have the character to walk on a pitch like this in a stadium like this, you can sit in the stands with your wife, your kids, drinking your Sprite and eating crisps. You cannot ruin the dreams of a team.’
‘You have to be a murderer to make the last two decisions the referee made,’ Buffon added later, on a Spanish radio station.
Buffon conceded that Madrid were worthy winners but said he was proud of his team for coming close to advancing despite entering the second leg 3-0 down.
‘Real Madrid deserved to go through over the two legs,’ Buffon said. ‘I wish them the best and it has always been an honour for me to face this club, but objectively we at least deserved to go to extra time.’
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