Former Barcelona player, Gary Lineker, has slammed Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus for insulting referee Michael Oliver and his wife during Real Madrid Champions League quarter final second leg at the Bernabeu.
The 40-year-old veteran goalkeeper was incensed by Oliver’s decision to award Real Madrid a penalty in the closing stage of the game.
Juventus were leading 3-0 on the night at the Bernabeu to level the tie 3-3 on aggregate.
Zinedine Zidane’s men were awarded an injury-time penalty, which Cristiano Ronaldo converted perfectly to take the reigning champions through to the last four.
Buffon was furious with the call from Oliver and made his feelings known by shouting and pushing the referee, which led to him being sent off.
Lineker called Buffon’s behaviour “out of order” in a tweet directed at the Italian.
He wrote, “These vituperous attacks on Michael Oliver and his wife are repugnant.
“Big admirer of Buffon but his behaviour since has been inflammatory and out of order.
“Oliver was doing his job and hard to argue against his decisions. Understand the emotion but time to defuse it, Gianluigi.”
Speaking after the game on Wednesday, Lineker had sympathised with Buffon by saying he thought Oliver’s decision to send him off was harsh.
He had told BT Sport, “It was a soft penalty decision, but we think he just got it right. You can’t say he’s made a mistake.
“Did he need to send Buffon off? It’s a yellow. It’s easier to give it when they’re at home.
“He’s aggressive, he’s shouting. It’s a heartbreaking moment.”
Коментарі