Gary Lineker has slammed Gianluigi Buffon for his behaviour towards referee Michael Oliver and told the Juventus goalkeeper to defuse the row.
Buffon was incensed by the English officials decision to award Real Madrid a penalty in their Champions League quarter-final with Juventus.
The Italian side were leading 3-0 on the night at the Bernabeu to level the tie on aggregate. But with an astonishing comeback looking on, Real Madrid were awarded an injury-time penalty which Cristiano Ronaldo scored to take the reigning champions through.
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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.
In the aftermath, he said Oliver had a garbage bin for a heart.
What Buffon said…
It was a tenth of a penalty.
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 in the first leg, you cannot award that at this point.
The team gave its 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 garbage bin. On top of that, if you dont 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.
Former England and Barcelona striker Lineker has called Buffons behaviour out of order in a tweet directed at the Italian.
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These vituperous attacks on Michael Oliver and his wife are repugnant, he wrote. 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.
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.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) April 14, 2018
Speaking after the game, Lineker sympathised with Buffon by saying he thought Olivers decision to send him off was harsh.
It was a soft penalty decision, but we think he just got it right. You cant say hes made a mistake, he said on BT Sport. Did he need to send Buffon off? Its a yellow. Its easier to give it when theyre at home. Hes aggressive, hes shouting. Its a heartbreaking moment.
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The match may have been Buffons last Champions League game, with the 40-year-old weighing up whether to retire at the end of this season.
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