UEFA has suspended goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon for three games after comments made about referee Michael Oliver earlier this year.
Earlier this season, Juventus were eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals, with English official Oliver awarding Real a decisive last-minute spot kick in the second leg at the Bernabeu.
After a match, which turned out to be Buffon’s last European fixture with Juve, the 40-year-old launched a scathing attack on Oliver, claiming that he ‘did not deserve’ to be the man in the middle for a fixture of that magnitude.
Days later, Buffon maintained his stance about Oliver, but nearly two months on from the incident, UEFA has moved to ban the legendary stopper for a period of three fixtures.
The punishment will be served away from Juventus with Buffon having already decided to end his long stay in Turin.