Romeo Lavia did not join the Chelsea squad for the medal ceremony following their victory in the Conference League on Wednesday evening.
Chelsea came from behind to beat Real Betis 4-1 at the Wroclaw Stadium in Poland to become the first club to win all the three available European club trophies.
An outstanding display in the second half turned the tables after Betis dominated in the opening period, ensuring they clinched the trophy as they celebrated both ending the season with silverware and qualifying for the Champions League just days apart.
Cole Palmer sparked the resurgence, providing assists for both Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson to put the Blues ahead. Jadon Sancho then contributed a stunning curled effort before Moises Caicedo sealed the victory with a powerful strike just outside the penalty area.
The victory ignited exuberant celebrations since this was the first title for the team under the new management. Captain Reece James remains the sole remaining player from the side that clinched the Champions League in 2021.
As the athletes mounted the podium to be awarded their medals by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, Lavia was seen moving away and therefore did not get a chance to receive an award.
As initially reported by
.co.ke
The Belgian player was not allowed to participate in the final because he wasn’t registered for the team. Coach Enzo Maresca left him out of the lineup during the previous season due to managing his playing time after dealing with injuries sustained while at West London club.
After the update of the squads following the league stage, the ex-Southampton player remained excluded and consequently was not an officially registered participant for the final.
It is intriguing that the Belgian player did not receive a medal, considering that at least three of Tottenham’s ineligible players were awarded medals last week following their victory in the Europa League.
Sergio Reguillón and new January signee Antonín Kinský found themselves on the podium in Bilbao even though they weren’t among the listed participants. This confusion led to skipper Heung-min Son, Christian Romero, and Rodrigo Bentancur missing out on receiving their medals; however, UEFA eventually rectified the situation by supplying additional medals.
Therefore, it is very probable that Lavia will receive a medal because the victorious teams typically get 50 medals, allowing them to allocate these rewards at their discretion.
More to follow.
