Italy and Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon defends his compatriot Gianluigi Donnarumma and believes that Karim Benzema’s challenge would have been a foul in Italy.
The veteran goalkeeper commented on Donnarumma’s mistake against Real Madrid in an interview with Il Corriere dello Sport.
“Errors like that are useful to grow up, they are part of a developing process and I am sure it will have no negative impact because Donnarumma has already proved to have the strength to overcome the difficult moments,” the Parma goalkeeper said.
“He is too solid to be affected by all this. Gigio is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, one of the top three with Thibaut Courtois and Manuel Neuer.”
PSG director Leonardo and president Nasser Al-Khelaifi were furious because they saw a foul of Karim Benzema on the Italian goalkeeper, what’s Buffon’s view?
“I want to be very honest, that would have been a foul in Italy. Perhaps after a VAR check. As a goalkeeper, I would be furious. On the other hand, Real Madrid players would have gone mad had the referee blown the whistle.
“I can add that, if Gigio remained on the ground, he would have obtained something else. We’ve seen many players doing that, but he was honest. He sent a message to the referee by getting up immediately, ‘the contact was irrelevant.’
“Errors are normals, Gigio can still give a lot. It’s a mistake that can’t lead to questioning the player’s value. One or two mistakes per season are physiological,” Buffon continued.
“Gigio made an unpopular choice [by joining PSG] which must be respected. He wanted to fuel his ambition, something that many didn’t like. They are the same people who were waiting for his mistake.
“The problem is not the French who are enjoying it, but the Italians who were waiting for that.”