NYON: UEFA has banned goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon for three matches for comments he made about the referee after Juventus lost in the Champions League quarter-finals in April, European football’s governing body said on Tuesday.

Buffon was enraged by English referee Michael Oliver’s decision to award Real Madrid a stoppage-time penalty during the second leg at the Bernabeu and lost control, screaming at and jostling the Englishman until he was shown a red card.

Cristiano Ronaldo coverted the spot-kick and Real lost the match 3-1 to win the tie 4-3 on aggregate.

“The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body has decided to suspend Juventus player Gianluigi Buffon for three UEFA competition matches for which he would be otherwise eligible,” UEFA said in a statement on its website.

The 40-year-old Buffon, who left Juventus after 17 seasons at the club, criticised Oliver after the match, saying the referee had been out of his depth, should have been in the stands eating crisps and must have a garbage bin for a heart. He apologised several days later.

Buffon will serve the ban next season if he signs for a club which plays in the Champions League or Europa League.

The 2006 World Cup winner could be playing for Paris Saint-Germain next season. He said on Monday he needed a week before making a decision on whether to head to the French capital or not.

Buffon was facing an automatic one-game ban for his red card.

UEFA also banned AS Roma supporters for two away games after fan violence left one Liverpool supporter in a critical condition ahead of the Champions League semi-final at Anfield.

Roma’s ban for the second match has been deferred under a probationary period of two years, European soccer’s governing body said in a statement. The Italian club were also fined 50,000 euros ($58,330).

Merseyside Police arrested two men from Rome in April after Liverpool supporter Sean Cox was left with serious injuries following an attack.

UEFA also fined Spartak Moscow 55,000 euros ($64,000) and Athletic Bilbao must pay 40,000 euros ($47,000) for fan clashes at a Europa League game in February.

A Spanish policeman suffered a cardiac arrest and died during the crowd trouble. Spartak are banned from selling tickets to their next two away games in UEFA competitions. Athletic must close a 2,000-seat section of their stadium at their next home game.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2018