Footballers are known to be a superstitious bunch.
From only stepping onto the pitch with a certain foot to spitting gum into the opposition’s half, many have their own individual pre-match rituals.
However, there is one superstition which everybody can agree on: Don’t touch the trophy before a final!
Everybody, that is, except Marseille captain Dimitri Payet, who touched the Europa League trophy as he walked out onto the Parc Olympique Lyonnais pitch.
It turned into an evening to forget for the Frenchman as he limped off injured after half an hour in his side’s 3-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid.
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Fans on Twitter were adamant that Payet’s pre-match contact with the coveted silverware was the reason for Marseille’s loss … not a dominant Atletico being the far superior side.
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Following Wednesday’s final, Liverpool fans were quick to urge their players not to touch the trophy ahead of the Champions League final against Real Madrid on May 26, recalling an incident from their famous night in Istanbul in 2005.
Despite being 3-0 down to AC Milan at half-time in that Champions League final, Liverpool mounted a second-half comeback to eventually win the game on penalties.
Did they achieve the seemingly impossible through grit and determination – or were there other sources at hand?
Before the match striker Fernando Morientes had urged his teammates not to touch the trophy – but Milan’s Gennaro Gattuso did as the two teams walked onto the pitch.
Former Liverpool midfielder Luis Garcia told fans three years ago: “I can’t remember who it was, but someone at the front of our line when walking out was shouting ‘they touched the trophy, they touched the trophy’.”
Liverpool and Real Madrid players, you have been warned.