After Tottenham defeated Premier League rivals Manchester United 1-0 in the 2025 Europa League final to win its first major honour in 17 years, UEFA sent its deepest apologies to the north London team. At San Mames Stadium on Wednesday night, Brennan Johnson made the difference by capitalising on a mistake made by Luke Shaw, while the rest of the United defence watched helplessly.
Ange Postecoglou fulfilled his commitment to win a trophy in his sophomore season, something the Australian gladly emphasised in his post-match comments, as Tottenham persevered and saw out a historic victory despite a flurry of Red Devils efforts in the second half.
Although a warm midweek evening in the Basque Country made for the ideal backdrop for Spurs’ festivities, UEFA’s error prevented certain players from taking home their winners’ medals that evening.
Tottenham Is Apologied By UEFA For Medal Shortage
Bentancur, Romero, and Son were not awarded the winners’ medals.
When the medals ran out at the trophy ceremony before all of Ange Postecoglou’s players had received theirs as they made their way to the podium, Alexander Ceferin, the head of the governing body, was taken by surprise.
Rodrigo Bentancur, Cristian Romero, and club captain Heung-min Son were the last three players to win medals on Wednesday night. According to the Guardian, UEFA stated in a statement:
Due to an unforeseen disparity in the player count, more team members—including wounded players—than expected attended the trophy celebration, which greatly disappointed us and resulted in a shortage of medals on stage during the presentation. We sincerely apologised for the lapse and quickly presented the missing medals to the victorious squad in the changing room.
According to the European regulatory body, the clubs were told that each club would only receive 30 medals on stage. Additionally, it stated that the club received 20 more medals following the event to give to the staff and players. All eight officials collected their awards on schedule, which only made UEFA look even more embarrassed.
However, their medals will now arrive in time for their trophy procession, which will begin at 5.30 p.m. on Friday at Edmonton Green’s Fore Street, proceed past Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the High Road and end at the stadium’s service yard on Northumberland Park.
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