- UEFA president defends Gianluigi Buffon’s reaction towards Michael Oliver
- Aleksander Ceferin said he can relate to the incident and it is ‘understandable’
- Oliver awarded Real Madrid a late penalty which ultimately knocked them out
- The English official sent off Buffon after the goalkeeper put his hands on him
- Buffon launched a scathing attack on Oliver while the official received threats
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has refused to condemn Gianluigi Buffon’s actions during Juventus’ quarter-final second leg with Real Madrid.
Ceferin said his reaction to Michael Oliver’s decision to award Zinedine Zidane’s men a penalty late on was ‘understandable’ after the Italian side were inches away from pulling off a miraculous comeback and forcing extra time.
Following the decision to award a penalty, the Juventus players surrounded the English official before Buffon reacted angrily and put his hands on Oliver, earning the veteran goalkeeper a red card in the process.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin defends Gianluigi Buffon’s reaction towards Michael Oliver
Oliver sent off Buffon after the goalkeeper put his hands on him in their quarter-final clash
The 40-year-old goalkeeper then blasted Oliver in a post-match interview and claimed the referee had a ‘trash can for a heart’ while comparing him to a ‘murderer’.
Despite Oliver and his wife receiving threats because of the whole ordeal, Ceferin has said Buffon’s reaction was ‘understandable’ and was able to relate to the incident.
‘What he [Buffon] did was too much, but I understand it perfectly because it was his last chance to win the Champions League,’ Ceferin told Marca.
‘He is human and understandable. When I play football with my friends and I lose at the last minute… last Saturday in a charity match, the ex-players were fighting with the referee.
Buffon launched a scathing attack on Oliver after the game while the official received threats
‘When you play, when you step on the pitch, you want to win and you talk about everything and you comment on everything. It happens to me when I’m playing in Slovenia.
‘Half of the world thinks it’s a penalty and the other half thinks it’s not. The referee decided it is and that’s the way football is.
‘I understand the anger of Juve because they were eliminated at the last minute, but I would also have understood the anger of Real Madrid had he [Oliver] not whistled and then had been eliminated in extra-time or on penalties. It’s football, it’s sport, it’s life. It’s very hard to lose at the last minute.’
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