Mexico City, April 21 (IANS): The UEFA Europa League trophy has been recovered, two days after it was stolen, after a private exhibition in Mexico’s Guanajuato state, officials said.
The trophy was recovered on Friday, Efe news reported citing the office of the prosecutor general of the Guanajuato.
The trophy, designed by Milan-based firm GDE Bertoni, represents the second most important tournament in Europe after the Champions League, and had been exhibited to employees and sports enthusiasts by a sponsor company in the city of Leon and was stolen from a vehicle after the exhibition.
Sources in the prosecutor’s office said complaint of the theft of the trophy -- made of pure silver and set on a marble base -- was lodged on Friday morning.
The authorities tweeted out an image of the trophy safely laid in cloth to prove that it was in friendly hands, but did not provide more detail of the incident, goal.com reported.
Semifinals of the Europa League are set to begin next week and the trophy will be awarded to the winners on May 16 in Lyon, France.
