The UEFA Europa League final between Tottenham and Manchester United was a strange affair.
Very rarely – if ever – have we seen two clubs sitting in the bottom five of their domestic league partake in a European final, but that is exactly what happened in Bilbao as Spurs defeated the Red Devils.
Tottenham currently sit 17th in the Premier League while Manchester United are 16th.
| Position | Team | Played MP |
Won W |
Drawn D |
Lost L |
For GF |
Against GA |
Diff GD |
Points Pts |
| 16 |  Man UtdManchester United |
37 | 10 | 9 | 18 | 42 | 54 | -12 | 39 |
| 17 |  TottenhamTottenham |
37 | 11 | 5 | 21 | 63 | 61 | 2 | 38 |
| 18 |  LeicesterLeicester |
37 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 33 | 78 | -45 | 25 |
| 19 |  IpswichIpswich |
37 | 4 | 10 | 23 | 35 | 79 | -44 | 22 |
| 20 |  SouthamptonSouthampton |
37 | 2 | 6 | 29 | 25 | 84 | -59 | 12 |
Therefore, it was a very odd spectacle to witness, and Graham Roberts noticed something else “strange” after the final whistle.
Lack of medals supplied by UEFA baffles Graham Roberts
The man born in Southampton, who made 278 appearances for Spurs, spotted that Heung-min Son, Cristian Romero and Rodrigo Bentancur all failed to receive a medal during the presentation.
Roberts – who hailed Romero – wrote on X (previously known as Twitter): “Fantastic support from our great, super supporters. You are the best and showed it last night, you got behind the team and helped us win the trophy. Also, did anybody notice that UEFA never had enough medals as Sonny, Romero, and Bentancur never got medals. I’m sure they will, but strange.”
Fantastic support from our great super supporters you are the best and showed it last night you got behind the team and helped us win the trophy also did anybody notice that uefa never had enough medals as sonny,Romero, and bentacur never got medals I’m sure they will but strange
— Graham Roberts (@GrahamRoberts4) May 22, 2025
What UEFA said in official statement after Tottenham trio were not given medals
UEFA have already addressed this “strange” moment in an official statement.
They said: “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.”
Ange Postecoglou – who tried to stay out of the celebrations – was clearly keen for each member of his squad to be recognised with a medal, regardless of how little they actually contributed to the achievement on the pitch.
That is the correct approach, as despite the fact some who received a medal barely appeared in this Europa League campaign, everyone plays a part behind the scenes on a daily basis, and deserves recognition.
