ZURICH- UEFA has condemned the online abuse aimed at English referee Michael Oliver and his wife after he awarded a decisive stoppage-time penalty to Real Madrid against Juventus in their Champions League quarter-final, second leg last week which was pivotal in the game.
UEFA said in a statement, “UEFA strongly condemns the abuse directed at Michael Oliver and his wife,” European soccer’s governing body said in a statement,
“We have been in contact with them to offer our support and we trust the relevant authorities to take action against those individuals who have behaved inappropriately both on and off social media.”
Juventus made a remarkable comeback with three goals during the game, as they started the game 0-3 on aggregate. The closing stages of the game, Madrid forward Lucas Vazquez in the box was fouled by Juventus defender Medhi Benatia, Oliver awarded a penalty.
The BBC reported on Sunday that British police are investigating threatening text messages sent to Oliver’s wife Lucy, whose Twitter account was targeted with threatening and abusive messages.
Oliver was harshly criticized by some Juve players during and after the match, particularly goalkeeper Gianlugi Buffon who said the official was not prepared for such a high-profile game and should instead have been eating crisps in the stands.
Buffon, who was sent off for his furious protest, but when asked on Saturday if he would repeat his words he said, “I am a human being who puts passion, sentiment and anger into what I do.”
He said he would rephrase his words in a more “civil” language.
Photo Credit- AFP
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