Monday, May 23, 2022 at 07:11• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 07:13

The festivities surrounding AC Milan’s title party have turned out to be a fiasco for Stefano Pioli. The trainer was robbed of his championship medal on Sunday evening. A fan is believed to have removed the medal from Pioli’s neck, who quickly called for the medal to be returned. Serie A is aware of the theft and promised the Italian a new medal if the original was not returned.

The Mapei Stadium turned red and black on Sunday, when Milan managed to win 0-3 to visit Sassuolo and thus grabbed the Scudetto for the first time in eleven years. Of the 21,000 seats, some 17,000 tickets had been sold to fans of Milan. After the final whistle, they stormed the field to honor the players. During the festivities, Pioli lost his medal. It is not known how a fan was able to remove the medal from the neck of the trainer. Pioli made an appeal soon after the theft.

“My championship medal was stolen, someone took it off my neck. I would like to call on whoever took it to give it back. I would be very grateful, it is the only champion medal I have,” Pioli told La Republica† Serie A then responded on social media, promising Pioli a new championship medal if the original was not returned. It is for Pioli his first national title as a trainer. As a player, he became champion with Juventus.

Pioli could also count on an individual prize. After the championship game, he was crowned Trainer of the Year in Serie A. The 56-year-old elector dedicated the award to his father, who died in 2019 just before his appointment at AC Milan. “I think he’s very proud of me wherever he may be right now.” Milan have remained unbeaten in their last 16 games. The last five were all turned into profits. In the end, the lead over city rivals and arch rival Internazionale was two points.