Jose Mourinho chucks away Europa League runners-up medal after Roma loss | soccer

Jose Mourinho chucks Europa League runners-up medal to a fan

The Portuguese coach did not hang around to watch Sevilla lift the trophy (Pictures: Getty)

Jose Mourinho had no interest in keeping his Europa League runners-up medal after Roma were beaten by Sevilla in Wednesday’s final and tossed it to a young fan in the crowd.

The Italian side took a first-half lead in Budapest through Paulo Dybala – who had been an injury doubted before the game – with the Argentine played clean through and slotting past goalkeeper Bono.

An own goal from Gianluca Mancini at the start of the second half evened things up, with neither team able to find a breakthrough as the match went to extra time and then penalties.

In the shootout, Morocco’s Bono made two excellent saves to deny both Mancini and Roger Ibanez before Argentina’s World Cup hero Gonzalo Montiel netted the winning spot-kick after a dramatic retake.

The defeat marks the first time Mourinho has lost a European final, having won the previous five, and he looked crestfallen when Sevilla’s winning penalty hit the back of the net.

He brought his players together in a huddle and spoke to them at length, and could be heard saying: ‘You played a great game. All of Europe saw you.’

Jose Mourinho after Roma lose to Sevilla

Mourinho gathered the players together for a passionate speech (Picture: Getty)
The young fan proudly shows off the runners-up medal (Picture: Getty)

Rather curiously, though, he then left the squad and walked by himself over to the trophy presentation to claim his runners-up medal before promptly taking it off.

He then walked over to the Roma dugout and threw the medal to a young fan in the crowd – with supporters applauding the gesture – before heading straight down the tunnel to the dressing room.

‘Jose has walked 100 yards away from his own team. He’s off! The medal’s off,’ said BT Sport commentator Steve McManaman as Mourinho made an early exit.

‘Jose has just taken his medal off and chucked it to one of the fans behind the bench, the Roma bench, and walked down the tunnel. So that’s what he thinks of his runners-up medal!’

Mourinho did not hang around to watch his Roma players claim their own runners-up medals, nor did he return from the dressing room to watch Sevilla lift the trophy.

The self-proclaimed Special One seemed to be holding back tears at the end of the game, with increasing speculation linking the 60-year-old with a switch to French champions Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

MORE : Jose Mourinho loses a European final for the first time as Sevilla beat Roma on penalties

MORE : Jose Mourinho takes random swipe at Tottenham and chairman Daniel Levy

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