Premier League Winner Remains Only Player Ever to Reject a Medal

Winning the Premier League is one of the biggest achievements in all of football but one star turned down a medal many years back.

These days, the rules stipulate that to qualify for a Premier League winner's medal a player must make five appearances in the competition.

Previously the required number was 10, which meant plenty of players missed out - including Gary Neville on two occasions as he was below the threshold.

Often clubs do have medals left over which they can distribute out to those who did not qualify for a medal.

But in an unbelievably rare instance, one Premier League winner elected rejected a medal back in 1995.

Blackburn were crowned Premier League champions ahead of Liverpool on a dramatic final day where they lost at Anfield but still won the league for the first time in 81 years under Reds hero Kenny Dalglish.

Batty is reported to have turned down a medal. Image: Getty

Alan Shearer, Tim Flowers, Graeme Le Saux, Colin Hendry, Tim Sherwood and Chris Sutton all played starring roles in the triumph but midfielder David Batty was restricted to just five appearances.

What Batty did with Premier League medal

The former England international suffered a broken foot in pre-season and so was ruled out for large parts of the campaign - returning in April to play the last few fixtures.

Still seen as an important member of the squad, Batty was offered a medal for how he contributed but did not feel he deserved it.

But despite the club making a special dispensation request and the Premier League agreeing, Batty refused as he felt his contribution was "very minimal".

One report claimed that he gave his medal to the ball boy in a selfless gesture.

However, that was to be the only medal Batty received in his Premier League career.

He moved to Newcastle in 1996 and came runners-up on two consecutive occasions before later returning for a second spell at Leeds United.

Batty later played for Newcastle, coming second on two occasions. Image: Getty

Back at Elland Road, he helped the Yorkshire outfit reached the Champions League semi-finals before retiring from football in 2004.

Capped 42 times for England, he did get a medal for helping Leeds win the First Division in the 1991/92 season before the Premier League began.