Paris – Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was charged by UEFA on Friday over his comments about referee Michael Oliver after the Italian side’s dramatic Champions League quarter-final loss to Real Madrid last month.
The 40-year-old has been charged both with breaching UEFA’s “general principles of conduct” over his outburst and also for his red card for dissent.
European football’s governing body said the case will be dealt with on May 31.
The last-eight clash between holders Real and Juventus was decided by a last-gasp Cristiano Ronaldo penalty after the Serie A champions had staged a remarkable comeback to wipe out a 3-0 first-leg deficit at the Santiago Bernabeu.
But Buffon, who was sent off in the aftermath of the penalty decision, lashed out at Oliver’s decision to award the spot-kick, saying the English official had a “rubbish bin for a heart”.
“You have to be a murderer to make the last two decisions the referee made,” Juve captain Buffon said.
“You cannot ruin the dreams of a team. I could’ve told the referee anything at that moment, but he had to understand the degree of the disaster he was creating.
“If you can’t handle the pressure and have the courage to make a decision, then you should just sit in the stands and eat your crisps.”
The 2006 World Cup-winner is set to retire at the end of the current season, so any potential ban from European football may not affect his future.
Buffon later defended his comments, saying the drama made him “feel alive”.
Although the goalkeeper was widely criticised for his comments, referee Oliver and his wife Lucy were both targeted on social media in the days after the game and were offered police support.
Buffon has never won the Champions League in his illustrious 23-year career.
He could win a fourth straight Serie A and Italian Cup double this weekend as his Juventus side look to clinch the league title when they play Roma on Sunday, having thrashed AC Milan 4-0 in Wednesday’s Cup final.
Each year after the NFL draft is complete, more than 20 men and women, including fantasy writers and editors, NFL writers, researchers and other members of the football operation here at ESPN, spend two full days talking about the game and what to expect in the season ahead. Many topics are discussed from various angles, including the utilization of metrics, film study, fantasy strategy, intel gathered from team sources and much more.
When all is said and done, we emerge with a set of rankings from the group in the room. These are those rankings, and they are for PPR (point-per-reception) scoring formats.
To be clear, they are not to be confused with our ESPN Fantasy staff rankings — a composite of our five season-long PPR analysts, Matthew Berry, Mike Clay, Tristan H. Cockcroft, Eric Karabell and Field Yates — which are also available on ESPN.com and updated all the way up to kickoff of the opener in September.
Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United boss, underwent emergency surgery Saturday after suffering a brain hemorrhage, United said in a statement, courtesy of Simon Stone of the BBC.
“Sir Alex Ferguson has undergone emergency surgery today for a brain hemorrhage. The procedure has gone very well but he needs a period of intensive care to optimise his recovery,” the statement reads.
League One side Doncaster, where Ferguson’s son Darren serves as manager, announced the 46-year-old was not with the third-tier side for Saturday’s match against Wigan Athletic for family reasons.
United midfielder Michael Carrick, who played a number of years under Ferguson, quickly took to social media after hearing the news to wish the best for his former manager.
Absolutely devastated to hear about Sir Alex being unwell in hospital. All my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. ???????? Be strong Boss xx
— Michael Carrick (@carras16) May 5, 2018
Ferguson managed United for over two decades from 1986-2013 after stints with St. Mirren, Aberdeen, and the Scottish national team. He led the Red Devils to 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, and two Champions League trophies.
Detroit Lions owner Martha Ford, team president Rod Wood and general manager Bob Quinn released a joint statement late Wednesday expressing support for head coach Matt Patricia after a sexual assault charge against him from 22 years ago resurfaced in a Detroit News story.
Patricia, in an accompanying statement, denied the accusation, made by a woman while Patricia was a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on spring break in South Padre Island, Texas, in 1996.
“As someone who was falsely accused of this very serious charge over 22 years ago, and never given the opportunity to defend myself and clear my name, I find it incredibly unfair, disappointing, and frustrating that this story would resurface now with the only purpose being to damage my character and reputation,” Patricia said in the statement. “I firmly maintain my innocence, as I have always done. I would never condone any of the behavior that was alleged and will always respect and protect the rights of anyone who has been harassed or is the victim of violence.
“My priorities remain the same — to move forward and strive to be the best coach, teacher, and man that I can possibly be.”
The joint statement from the team’s leadership read, in part, that the charge against Patricia “was dismissed by the prosecutor at the request of the complaining individual prior to trial. As a result, Coach Patricia never had the opportunity to present his case or clear his name publicly in a court of law. He has denied that there was any factual basis for the charge. There was no settlement agreement with the complaining individual, no money exchanged hands and there was no confidentiality agreement. In discussions today with Lions management, the reporter involved acknowledged that the allegations have not been substantiated.
“As an organization, the Detroit Lions take allegations regarding sexual assault or harassment seriously. Coach Patricia was the subject of a standard pre-employment background check which did not disclose this issue. We have spoken to Coach Patricia about this at length as well as the attorney who represented him at the time. Based upon everything we have learned, we believe and have accepted Coach Patricia’s explanation and we will continue to support him. We will continue to work with our players and the NFL to further awareness of and protections for those individuals who are the victims of sexual assault or violence.”
Charges were filed in the case, and Patricia and his friend, Greg Dietrich, were indicted by a grand jury of one count of aggravated sexual assault, but they were never tried in the case.
Wood told the Detroit News that he and Quinn were not aware of the allegation in Patricia’s past when they hired him. Wood later told the newspaper that he was “comfortable” with Patricia on staff.
“I am very comfortable with the process of interviewing and employing Matt,” Wood told the News. “I will tell you with 1,000 percent certainty that everything I’ve learned confirmed what I already knew about the man and would have no way changed our decision to make him our head coach.”
The News reported that APG Security, a private investigation firm with corporate headquarters in South Amboy, New Jersey, and offices in 21 states including Texas, requested the court files for Patricia’s case in January. It is not clear whether the Lions contracted the firm to run a background check on Patricia or someone else did.
The News reported that the case against Patricia and Dietrich fell apart when the alleged victim did not respond to attempts to contact her in the weeks following the incident and decided she would not testify.
As of Wednesday night, Patricia, 43, was scheduled to talk with the media Thursday before the Lions open their rookie minicamp this weekend.
