Gianluigi Buffon has been suspended three matches in UEFA competitions next season as a result of his outburst toward referee Michael Oliver after the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid in April, his last match in Europe with Juventus.
Buffon was incensed with Oliver after the official called a penalty in Real Madrid’s favour in the dying minutes of the second leg after Juventus had erased the Spanish side’s 3-0 advantage on aggregate. In a fit of disbelief, Buffon appeared to shove Oliver before being shown a red card for his dissent.
After the match, and with Juventus eliminated from the Champions League, Buffon continued to express his displeasure with Oliver’s decision to award the penalty, stating the referee had a “trash can” for a heart before doubling down on his comments days later.
Buffon, however, eventually apologised for his behaviour at a press conference where he also announced his intention to leave Juventus.
“After that match, I went beyond the limits with the things I said about the referee and I apologise for that. … If I saw the referee again, I would give him a hug and say that he should have taken more time with that decision in such an important game for us and for me,” Buffon said.
The Italian goalkeeping legend has yet to announce his destination for next season, though reports in late May suggested he was in advanced negotiations on a move to French giant Paris Saint-Germain.
Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is appealing a four-game ban that would cause him to sit out games against the Texans, Jaguars, Lions and Dolphins, league sources told ESPN.
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Jordan, a projected starter for Seattle, has been sidelined during organized team activities. Carroll said the team hopes he’s back by training camp.
“He had a surgery, kind of an after surgery to correct a little something,” Carroll said. “Everything went really well, and we’re hoping that by camp time he’ll be ready to rip and all that. But [it’s a] knee thing that, he’s had some complications over time, and so it was worth it to go ahead and clean this thing up. It was a really small issue, but it was one that was going to sit him down for six to eight weeks, so we went ahead and did it.”
The 28-year-old Jordan has had knee problems dating back to his time with the Miami Dolphins, who drafted him third overall in 2013 and waived him last offseason with a failed-physical designation. He signed a one-year deal with Seattle last offseason but then had another surgery and didn’t make his Seahawks debut until November. Jordan recorded four sacks in five games but missed three more with a neck injury.
The Seahawks re-signed him as a restricted free agent.
Jordan’s absence and that of Frank Clark during offseason work has further thinned the Seahawks’ defensive line, which underwent more turnover than any position group on Seattle’s roster. The Seahawks traded Michael Bennett, waived fellow end Cliff Avril with a failed-physical designation and lost defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson in free agency. Clark replaced Avril in the starting lineup last season and Jordan has been in line to take over at the other end spot for Bennett.
Clark has joined free safety Earl Thomas and cornerback Byron Maxwell in skipping voluntary OTAs. Asked if he expects Thomas back for next week’s mandatory minicamp, which runs Tuesday through Thursday, Carroll responded: “Yeah, it’s mandatory, so we expect everybody to show up.”
Recently signed wide receiver Brandon Marshall was absent Thursday. Carroll said Marshall, who’s coming off ankle and toe surgeries, was back home rehabbing.
Right guard D.J. Fluker practiced Thursday after being held out of earlier OTAs to rest a knee injury.
Offensive tackle George Fant has still yet to practice as he returns from knee surgery, but he is expected to be ready by training camp. Fant was in line to resume his starting role at left tackle last year before he tore his ACL in the preseason, prompting the Seahawks to trade for Duane Brown at the deadline.
“George could probably get out now if we needed him to, but it’s just not worth it to do that,” Carroll said. “He’s chomping at the bit. Now he’s had two years of lifting and getting the strength training in order. He looks great and he’s done everything. He’s been here the whole time with us, so we feel really good about the process of getting him ready. There’s just no reason to do it.”
AS Roma supporters won’t be following their team away from home for one European match next season due to the violence that occurred ahead of a Champions League semi-final against Liverpool in April.
On Tuesday, UEFA fined the Italian side €50,000 and issued a two-match ban on selling away tickets. However, the second match of the ban will be deferred under a probationary period of two years, the European governing body announced.
The charges stem from crowd disturbances outside of Anfield. Liverpool supporter Sean Cox suffered serious head injuries in an attack allegedly carried out by Roma fans.
The incident took place less than an hour before Liverpool beat Roma 5-2 in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final on April 24.
Related: Roma chairman blasts ‘moron’ fans over Liverpool fan assault
Cox underwent surgery in Liverpool before returning home to Ireland.
A pair of Roma fans, Filippo Lombardi (20) and Daniele Sciusco (29), were charged with violent disorder. Lombardi was also charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm.
PHILADELPHIA — Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins opted not to speak during his media availability Wednesday. Instead, he held up signs highlighting the work of NFL players in the community and facts related to social justice matters every time a question about the cancellation of the White House visit was raised.
On Wednesday evening, Jenkins broke his silence and explained the motivation behind that action in a one-on-one interview with ESPN.
“I’m tired of the narrative being about the anthem, about the White House or whatever,” he said following a meeting in downtown Philadelphia with top public defenders from around the country on the issue of bail reform. “The issues are the issues. And the reason that we’re doing any of this is because we have these huge disparities in our criminal justice system; we have this issue of mass incarceration; we have issues of police brutality; our children and access to education and economic advancement is nonexistent in communities of color. And these things are systemic; there are ways that we can change them.
“And for me, I feel like this is the time to do that. And so, that message can’t continue to be ignored. And that’s what I think has been happening up until this point. So we just have to continue to stay on topic and continue to push the issues — and not this narrative of who’s right and who’s wrong, but what are the reasons why players are even so passionate about this.”
The story that has dominated the headlines is the White House cancelling on the Eagles a day before the scheduled visit, accusing them of a “political stunt” by notifying the White House at the last minute that only a small contingent of players would attend.
The team had been deliberating for weeks how to best approach the trip to make it an experience the players could agree on and share together. One idea that was considered during those talks was having a group of players meet with the president to discuss issues of importance to them.
While the Eagles “floated” the idea of a sit-down with President Donald Trump, Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, at left, said most inroads concerning the issues he’s fighting for are made at the local level. AP Photo/Josh Reynolds
“An opportunity, I think, was floated around as an idea,” Jenkins said of a sit-down with President Donald Trump. “But a lot of that back-and-forth with the White House was not — we as a team weren’t necessarily privy to that information; that was kinda going between team executives and the White House. And so as players, I think it was left up to each individual what they wanted to do; they were gonna have some options. But then ultimately, the decision was to only send a few guys, and then obviously it got cancelled after that.”
Jenkins said he does not view the proposed sit-down with the president as an opportunity lost, saying most inroads concerning the issues he’s fighting for are made at the local level.
The Players Coalition joined in a partnership with the NFL in November that calls for the league to contribute $89 million over seven years to projects dealing with criminal justice reform, law enforcement/community relations and education. Jenkins stopped protesting during the national anthem after that partnership was forged.
The league’s new anthem policy, which requires players to stand if they are on the field during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” has added fuel to the controversy and politicization surrounding the issue in recent weeks. Jenkins, though, does not believe it will have an impact on the Players Coalition’s efforts.
“I’m not sure about the whole anthem policy. But I know that won’t affect our work outside of that. We’ve been doing work outside of the anthem since the beginning. Before the anthem even started, players were involved in these types of social justice issues,” Jenkins said. “The anthem protests or demonstrations just brought eyes and attention to it.
“And so for us, it’s just continuing to do the work, continuing to share our message to those who actually even want to hear it, to stay on topic and not really get into arguments about what’s right, what’s wrong — ’cause those are all excuses for people to not listen to you. And so for us, it’s staying on topic, doing the work, supporting those who are doing the work and pushing forward.”
