Blowup may end career of Juve’s Buffon
Juve veteran sent off in fury over penalty that could end CL career
MADRID — Gianluigi Buffon’s Champions League career looks likely to end in a red mist of rage after Cristiano Ronaldo’s late penalty on Wednesday rescued Real Madrid from a pulsating Juventus comeback.
Buffon’s anger earned him a red card from English referee Michael Oliver, moments before Ronaldo slammed a 97th-minute penalty into the top corner to send Madrid into the semifinals.
Oliver’s decision was not as poor as Buffon claimed. Mehdi Benatia’s challenge on Lucas Vazquez, from behind, was a clumsy attempt to stop the Spaniard finishing from five yards.
But Juve had made the impossible possible, having wiped out a 3-0 deficit from the first leg, to lead by the same scoreline at Santiago Bernabeu.
Buffon, who has racked up 125 Champions League appearances but never won the competition, could not contain his frustration as Ronaldo’s goal made the aggregate score 4-3.
“This referee has no heart, he has a garbage bag instead of a heart,” Buffon told Italian channel Mediaset Premium after the match.
“If you do not have personality and courage, you should go to the stands to watch the match with your wife and a Sprite.”
Buffon’s red card could bring a bad-tempered end to a magnificent Champions League career, with the 40-year-old Italian expected to retire in the summer.
“The referee blew for a foul that only he saw,” Buffon told beIN Sports. “Above all, for great matches at European level, we need big players, coaches, supporters and referees.
“There must be some sensitivity to understanding the importance of some moments and if you do not have this sensitivity to what’s going on in the game, you’re not worthy of being on the pitch.
“In this case, he should be in the stands with his parents, with his friends, with fries and Coca-Cola, and watch the game. You cannot do something like that.”
Benatia controversially likened the penalty decision to being “raped”.
“Honestly I’ve seen and played in matches — you can never whistle for a penalty like that in the 93rd minute,” Benatia said.
“If there is contact it is with my thigh and that is part of football. There is never the intention to foul him or to push him.”
Benatia added: “Last year they screwed Bayern Munich on two or three goals that were offside if I’m not mistaken.
“It’s always the same story that repeats itself. It’s a very big team Real, it’s not for nothing that they have won so much, I don’t think they need any extra help.
“Everyone knows that this match had to go into extra time and the best team would have won.”
Amid the swarm of Juventus players surrounding Oliver, Ronaldo kept his cool. This was a record-stretching 11th consecutive Champions League game in which he has scored.
“I do not understand why they protest against the penalty,” Ronaldo told beIN Sports.
“If he did not commit the foul, Lucas would have scored. During the game, Benatia and the rest of them had already been kicking us from behind. But we are happy and we are in the semifinals.”
Real coach Zinedine Zidane was more sympathetic towards Buffon.
“He did not deserve that,” Zidane said. “But we cannot change it. It will not take away everything he has done, even if it’s a shame to end his Champions League career this way.”
Croatian international Mario Mandzukic set Juve on its way with a goal after just 76 seconds — the fastest Real has ever conceded in this competition — and then scored again before halftime with another header at the back post.
When Keylor Navas fumbled Douglas Costa’s cross on the hour, allowing Blaise Matuidi to stab home, Juve was on the cusp of ensuring there would be no Spanish representative in the last four, following Barcelona’s elimination on Tuesday.
But Oliver blew for the penalty, Buffon exploded and Ronaldo hit the net.
“It leaves a bitter taste,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said.
“Because we have not had the chance to take the game to extra time. In view of the two legs both teams would have deserved to move on to the next phase.”
Real, meanwhile, edges one step closer to claiming an unprecedented third consecutive Champions League triumph, a fourth in five years.
It joins Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Roma in Friday’s semifinal draw.
“What I did not expect is in minute one to score a goal,” Zidane said. “By conceding the goal after a minute, you drop your head and give them life. Then they played a good game — they were good and we were bad.”
Gareth Bale perhaps paid the heaviest price. Bale had been handed his first Champions League start since September by Zidane, but the Welshman was hauled off at halftime with his team trailing 2-0. Casemiro also made way as Marco Asensio and Vazquez came on.
“Something had to change,” Zidane said. “I was not happy with the approach, it was not to punish Gareth or Casemiro.
“We have changed a little more the dynamics, with Lucas and Marco giving us a little more energy. We had to do it.”
Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus goalkeeper, on referee Michael Oliver