Refereeing chief Marcello Nicchi claims he would have sided with Michael Oliver if Gianluigi Buffon’s ‘threatening’ outburst happened in a Serie A game.
Buffon was sent off for excessive dissent towards Oliver after he took issue with the Englishman’s decision to award Real Madrid a stoppage-time penalty, which ultimately knocked Juventus out of the Champions League and sent Los Blancos into the semi-finals.
Refereeing chief Marcello Nicchi claims he would have sided with Michael Oliver if Gianluigi Buffon’s ‘threatening’ outburst happened in a Serie A game.
Buffon was sent off for excessive dissent towards Oliver after he took issue with the Englishman’s decision to award Real Madrid a stoppage-time penalty, which ultimately knocked Juventus out of the Champions League and sent Los Blancos into the semi-finals.
“I have to be respectful of others, so what happened in Madrid should be managed by international organisations,” he continued to Radio Anch’io Sport.
“I won’t let myself judge technical work. Buffon’s a great champion, who will go on to have a great career at senior level.
“However, at certain levels you have to be careful about what you say. There are always kids listening.
“If it happened in Italy? I would’ve defended the referee. They can’t be threatened either before, during, or after the game.
“After that, there are the appropriate bodies which must judge the conduct of all the players on the pitch.”