Former Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon described the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid in 2018 when he was red-carded as his proudest moment. He also revealed someone else punched referee Michael Oliver, yet he was the one to receive the red card. The Bianconeri produced a heroic performance after losing 3-0 at home in the first leg to take the lead by the same score line at the Bernabeu in the return leg, only for everything to change when Madrid was awarded a stoppage-time penalty. Buffon was red-carded for his furious reaction, while Cristiano Ronaldo dispatched the spot kick to send the eventual winners into the semi-final.
Speaking to La Stampa, Buffon said of the incident: “Madrid in 2018 is the match I am most proud of, even if I still don’t understand why the referee, Oliver, sent me off. I didn’t offend him and I think one of my team-mates gave him a punch or two in the ribs but it wasn’t me and I received the red!” That was the final Champions League match of Buffon’s spell with Juve. He reached the final on three occasions but never won it. He moved to Paris Saint-Germain that summer but suffered another shocking last-16 exit before returning to Juve as back-up and was eliminated at the same stage in each of his last two seasons before joining Parma.
Source: Football Italia
