Many in the Premier League believe Michael Oliver has what it takes to be one of the best referees in the world although it would be fair to say that if Real Madrid’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Juventus had been closer than 3-0 he would not have been in charge of the second leg.

Oliver, 33, had only been moved onto the Uefa elite list of referees in January, too late for the World Cup finals which will not include a single English official, but there is an appetite to develop him. It would have been a more experienced official assigned to this quarter-final tie if there had been a narrower margin from the first leg and yet by half-time Oliver will have realised that this was turning into one of the games of his life.

By the end of it, Gianluigi Buffon would accuse the English referee of having “a bin where his heart should be”.

“He blew for a foul only he saw,” said the Italian - but Oliver was right.

He has been refereeing in the Champions League for two seasons now, and was in charge of Juventus’ first round victory over Sporting Lisbon and Bayern Munich’s round of 16 second leg at Besiktas. But it was as this game went into its closing stages that he was faced with two huge decisions in quick succession.