EUROPA League
UEFA Trophy Presentations Henceforth on The Pitch
The Union of European Football Associations, UEFA, has now institutionalized trophy presentation on the pitch. Sports Village Square gathered from the European football controlling body that starting from the UEFA Cup final in Stockholm, trophies will henceforth be presented on the pitch rather than at the VIP stands.
“The pitch is the players’ stage and it is only fitting that their achievements are celebrated there,” said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, confirming a new standard in UEFA competitions.
The UEFA Champions League, UEFA Women’s Champions League and UEFA Europa League trophies will be presented to the winning captains on the pitch this year, following a decision by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.
The trophies will be presented on the field to the winning captains by the UEFA President after the UEFA Europa League final at Stockholm’s Friends Arena on May 24, the UEFA Women’s Champions League final at the Cardiff City Stadium on June 1 and the UEFA Champions League decider at the National Stadium of Wales on June 3.
Purpose-built stages have been produced for these venues, and assembling them will take less than five minutes.
The return to on-pitch presentations will give all fans in the stadiums a better view of the trophy lifts, while the television audience will also get clearer pictures. Moving the presentation onto the field of play also has a symbolic meaning according to UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.
“It also makes sense that the officials should come down from the stands to the players – to their arena – and pay tribute to them in presenting the trophy and medals on the playing surface.
“Players will also be able to celebrate with their team-mates on the pitch in full view of the fans without the interruption of having to climb up to the stands. Furthermore, all supporters will get a perfect view of the trophy lift wherever they are seated in the stadium.”
Trophy presentations on the pitch will now be standard practice across all UEFA club and national-team competitions.
Four-times Europa League winner Unai Emery booked an astonishing sixth final in the competition as a manager on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.
The 54-year-old Spaniard has won three times with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021) – either side of a defeat with Arsenal (2019) – deservedly earning him the epithet “Mr Europa League” from some fans and media.
Now he goes to the 2026 final seeking a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side Freiburg.
“His track record speaks for itself,” said Villa striker Ollie Watkins, heaping praise on his boss as the man to guarantee Europa League success. “We need to go and win it now.”
Emery was delighted with how his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final to score four times at home and win 4-1 on aggregate.
“Now we have to look to the final,” he said, hoping that Villa will do “something fantastic” for their fans.
Though thrilled at Thursday’s win, Emery left the pitch quickly after the final whistle, pumping his fist a few times at the crowd before letting his players enjoy the moment with fans
He and his Villa side will be favourites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, but Emery was taking nothing for granted. “Of course German teams are so difficult, their coaches, their players are so good,” he added of the upcoming opponents.
-Reuters
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List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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