It has since been safely recovered.
The Europa League trophy was briefly stolen from a vehicle in Mexico, UEFA have confirmed, before being safely recovered.
The trophy was at an event in the Mexican city of Leon, when it was taken. Authorities reported that the trophy had been taken. A desperate search likely ensued, but it would have been a brief one – the prosecutor’s office then tweeted an image of the cup to confirm that it was back in safe hands.
It is pretty standard for replica of trophies to be used at events – on the UEFA website it states that the Europa League trophy “Remains in UEFA’s keeping at all times.” Some have suggested however that the drama around the incident means that it was actually the real deal that went missing. This has not been confirmed or denied though.
The real trophy will however be present at the Stade de Lyon on May 16th, where it will be awarded to the eventual winner of the competition. Later this week Arsenal take on Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals, with the other tie being contested by Marseille and RB Salzburg.
If Arsenal make it to the final, it will be Arsene Wenger’s final ever game managing the club.
The most famous trophy-stealing moment in football history is, of course, the theft of the World Cup in 1966. The Jules Rimet was taken from an exhibition in London. After a dramatic search, the trophy was found safe and sound under a bush, by a heroic collie dog named Pickles.
