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Buffon should watch his mouth, says Italian referees' head Nicchi

Italian referees' chief Marcello Nicchi said yesterday that Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon should think before lashing out at officials as he did during last week's Champions League defeat by Real Madrid.

Buffon was sent off for dissent by English referee Michael Oliver after he awarded Real Madrid a stoppage-time penalty which sent the Spanish side into the semi-finals.

The 40-year-old later called Oliver "a murderer" with "a rubbish bin" in place of a heart.

"Buffon is a great champion who I hope will go on to have a great managerial career," Nicchi told Italian radio. "But at certain levels, you have to be careful about what you say. There are always kids listening.

"If it happened in Italy? I would have defended the referee. They can't be threatened either before, during, or after the game." - AFP

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