Gianluigi Buffon has spoken out about his reaction to English referee Michael Oliver's last-minute penalty decision in Juventus' Champions League Quarter-final clash against Real Madrid last month.
After a long, illustrious and highly respected career playing No.1 on the football pitch, Buffon stunned the football world with his shocking attack on referee Michael Oliver.
The gripping tie between the two titans saw Michael Oliver point to the spot in the 90th minute following a careless challenge by Medhi Benatia on Lucas Vazquez. Ronaldo did the rest, and that saw Madrid make it through to the semis.
After the decision was given, Buffon made his opinion very clear with Michael Oliver and almost crossed the boundary into physical abuse when confronting the 33-year-old ref in the dying moments of the game. The Juventus veteran was shown a straight red for his reaction.
A month on and Buffon has finally broken the silence and taken the opportunity to apologise for his actions during his 'goodbye conference' where he announced his retirement earlier today.
As per The Independent, he said:
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"If I saw the referee again, I would give him a hug and say that he should have taken more time with that decision," said Buffon.
"With the feelings, emotions and disappointment of the situation, I behaved in a way that was not usual for me. After that match, I went beyond the limits with the things I said about the referee and I apologise for that."
With regards to the 40-year-old's future, he added: "I said that I received a few proposals, very interesting ones, both for on the field & off it... I'd want to challenge for big honours because that's what I live for and in a way it's my limitation too."
Could this be a hint that Gigi is on his way to the Premier League?
Let us know what you think.
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Words by Joel Greasley
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Football News, Michael Oliver, Football, Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus, Italy
