On Wednesday night, Roma’s manager, Jose Mourinho, threw his runners-up medal into the crowd in frustration as they lost 4-1 to Sevilla in the Europa League final. This was Mourinho’s first loss in a European final, having won all five previous ones that his teams had featured in.
Roma took the lead in the first half through Paulo Dybala, but Sevilla equalized when Gianluca Mancini scored an own goal. Despite chances from both sides, the game went into extra time without any further goals being scored. Eventually, the winner was decided via penalties, with Mancini and Ibanez missing crucial kicks for Roma, while Sevilla converted all their kicks to lift the Europa League trophy for the seventh time.
Mourinho’s frustration at failing to secure a European trophy for Roma, in addition to their failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League, was evident as he threw his medal into the crowd. This act of frustration, however, has sparked concerns about the impact it could have on the mental health of vulnerable individuals.
Facebook policy on suicide and self-harm clearly states that such content will not be allowed on the social media platform. As such, Mourinho’s act of throwing his runner-up medal into the crowd must be reported responsibly and sensitively by journalists and media outlets to ensure mental health is not compromised.
Sevilla, on the other hand, has automatically qualified for the next season’s Champions League competition.
