Before the start of the second leg, many would have predicted that its the end of Juventus from this year’s Champions League and most importantly the last ever Champions League match for Gianluigi Buffon.
We knew the end was coming. But not like this. A devastated and a broken Buffon left the pitch in the last minute of the match after getting a red card for pushing the referee Michael Oliver who awarded Real Madrid a penalty which shattered the dreams of Juventus’ glorious comeback.
It was expected that the anger and frustration of Buffon will fade away after the match, but in the post match press conference, the Italian goal-keeper lost his cool even more and lashed out at the referee with some serious comments.
“To award such a doubtful, or super doubtful, penalty just ahead of the final whistle and destroy the work of a team who gave absolutely everything you have to have a rubbish bin instead of your heart.”
“A human being cannot decide the elimination of a team with such decision. When I don’t feel I’m good enough, I put myself in a corner. He should do the same. It’s a matter of sensibility. It means you don’t know where you are, which teams are playing, you don’t know shit,” Buffon said.
The Italian goal-keeper also claimed that a penalty was not given to Juventus for a similar foul in the first leg.
“You need to be prepared for a game like this. You have to watch the first leg and see that a similar foul was not punished with a penalty for Juventus in Turin. And especially you need personality to referee a game like this. If you don’t have personality, you better watch the game from the stands with your wife and your kids while eating fries.”
After referee awarded the penalty to Real Madrid, Buffon said a lot of things to the referee. He later revealed the things he said to the ref.
“What did I say to him while I was protesting? I could say everything in that moment because when you take such decision in a certain moment of the game it means you don’t know what sport is.”
“We had done something which seemed impossible. It’s a pity it ended like this, unjustly. It was one tenth of a penalty. But life goes on,” Buffon concluded.
In the end, Cristiano Ronaldo blasted the penalty into the top corner to break brave Juve’s hearts and get Real Madrid out of jail as they progress, by the skin of their teeth, to the last four of the competition.