Why THREE Tottenham players missed out on medals despite playing in the Europa League final
Marcus Chan
3 minutes
At least three Tottenham Hotspur stars were reportedly seen without a winner’s medal after they beat Manchester United in the Europa League final.
On the back of a horrible season in domestic football, Spurs managed to end their campaign on a high as they clinched the Europa League trophy.
Brennan Johnson netted the winner with 42 minutes on the clock as Ange Postecoglou’s men sealed a 1-0 victory against a poor United side.
As a result, Spurs will now be in the Champions League next season.
During the trophy presentation, there was an apparent blunder by UEFA after it was claimed that at least three Spurs players were left without a medal.
As reported by The Sun, captain Son Heung-min was seen without a medal around his neck as he lifted Spurs’ first trophy in 17 years.
Meanwhile, South American duo Rodrigo Bentancur and Cristian Romero also had to go without. It is unknown whether more Spurs players were not handed a medal during the presentation.
It appears that UEFA ran out of medals as president Aleksander Ceferin was spotted having a short conversation with Son ahead of handing him the trophy – possibly to congratulate him and perhaps to apologise for the lack of medals.
SPORTbible has contacted UEFA for comment.
UEFA later said in a statement: “To our great displeasure, we did not have enough medals available on stage during the trophy ceremony presentation due to an unexpected discrepancy in the player count, as more team members – including injured players – participated in the ceremony than initially anticipated.
“The missing medals were promptly delivered to the winning team in the dressing room, along with our sincerest apologies for the oversight.”
Son Heung-min was seen without a medal as he lifted the Europa League trophy. Image: Getty
Son Heung-min was seen without a medal as he lifted the Europa League trophy. Image: Getty
Reflecting on his side’s victory, Son said: “Let’s say I’m a legend now. In 17 years nobody has done it, so today let’s say with amazing players probably a legend of the club.
“This is what I’ve always dreamed for. Today is the day it happened. I am the happiest man in the world.”
The South Korean added: “When you look at the whole season there will always be some situation you have a tough time but we as players always stuck together.
“I felt the pressure. I wanted it so badly. The last seven days I was dreaming about this game every night. It finally happened and I can sleep easy now.”
Spurs are back in action on Sunday as they round off the Premier League campaign with a match against Brighton and Hove Albion.
