There was no logic in expecting Gigi not to stick to his statement. Exactly because a 40 years old football gentleman "lost it" for the first time in his career, the world should have realized that something really awful happened that night. Sure, as a Juve player, Gigi was disappointed to be eliminated and to lose his last chance for the CL, but it was painfully obvious that he was just as disappointed that an epic match was stopped earlier than it should have been, and it will never be considered an epic match. It was obvious how disappointed he was that UEFA underestimated the match by appointing a rookie. It was obvious how disappointed he was that a chance for Italian football was ruined.
English football won a lot when Manchester United won in 1999 or Liverpool in 2005. Pretty much these are the moments when EPL took over serie A. Imagine if Milan got a penalty in last minute at 3:3 or Manchester's first or second goal against Bayern in 1999 were disallowed. Who knows how would have football developed, what would have happened with EPL, Serie A, even Bundesliga or La Liga. Not calling the penalty might have been a huge moment in football's history, and a 33 year old kid (Buffon's perspective) ruined it.