By Andrew Warshaw
April 12 – What must UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, opposed to introducing video assistant referees in his showpiece club competition, be thinking now?
For the second time in 24 hours, Champions League hopes and dreams were cruelly shattered by debatable officiating that cried out for fairness and clarity.
This time, the fall-guys were Juventus who were not given a chance but took Real Madrid to the brink, only to be denied by conceding a highly contentious injury-time penalty which led to their legendary goalkeeper Gianluca Buffon being sent off.
When it was announced recently that Britain had no referees going to the World Cup, there was widespread surprise. No-one connected with Juventus will be questioning that decision after Michael Oliver awarded Real the spotkick that enabled the defending champions to squeeze into the semI-finals and broke Juve’s hearts.
Just as Roma had eliminated Barcelona the night before with the mother of all comebacks, so Juve fans were dreaming of what would arguably have been an even greater achievement – away from home – when their team led 3-0 in the Bernabeu to level the tie on aggregate.
But with extra time seconds away, Oliver pointed to the spot when Medhi Benatia’s push on Lucas Vazquez was adjudged to be a foul and sent off Buffon for his reaction amid Juve’s angry protests. Cristiano Ronaldo – who else – slammed the spot kick past reserve goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to send Real into the last four with a 4-3 aggregate win.
“It was certainly a dubious incident. Not clear-cut,” Buffon told Italian TV after his final Champions League appearance.
“It was a tenth of a penalty. And a dubious incident at the 93rd minute when we had a clear penalty denied in the first leg, you cannot award that at this point. The team gave its all, but a human being cannot destroy dreams like that. 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.”
An equally livid Juventus president Andrea Andrea Agnelli said VAR was desperately needed in the Champions League.
“This isn’t about one or two points, but rather going forward in a massive tournament that brings so much money and prestige,” he said. “We can’t allow these incidents to occur. For some reason, the vanity of the refereeing designator is trying to scientifically prove he is unbiased and keeps assigning referees who are against Italian clubs.”
Agnelli said Oliver should have understood the tie better following Paulo Dybala’s sending off in the first leg a week ago.
“Players make mistakes, so do referees, but this official completely lost control of the situation. A referee in Madrid for the quarter-final must have seen the first leg, realise the (Paulo) Dybala red card was excessive and understand the various situations.
“The referee tonight was in total chaos. The most important thing is we have the technology, it exists and is in use, so we have to bring it into the Champions League.”
Video technology has been used on a trial basis this season in several major leagues including Serie A and the Bundesliga, and in some English domestic cup games. It is set to be used at the World Cup finals but not in European competitions – yet.
“If UEFA are not ready, then they need to train people quickly, just as Serie A did, plus in Germany, Portugal and elsewhere,” said Agnelli.
From the opposing standpoint, Ronaldo said there was no doubt Oliver got it right. “I don’t understand why they are protesting. Lucas was tackled from behind and if they don’t give him the penalty, it is a goal.”
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