Gianluigi Buffon hit with UEFA charge after rant at referee

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Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was charged with violating UEFA's code of conduct on Friday for comments he made about referee Michael Oliver following his team's Champions League quarter-final defeat by Real Madrid last month.

The Juve captain was enraged by Oliver's decision to award Real a decisive stoppage-time penalty during the second-leg tie at the Bernabeu and lost control, screaming at and jostling the English referee until he was shown a red card.

Forward Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to convert the penalty and send Real through to the semi-finals 4-3 on aggregate.

Buffon, 40, 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 had a garbage bin for a heart.

UEFA said in a statement on its website that Buffon had been charged both for receiving a direct red card and with violating the governing body's "general principles of conduct".

The case will be dealt with by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body on May 31.