Fans convinced Europa League final was 'rigged' after Sevilla beat AS Roma

Angry fans are convinced the Europa League final was 'rigged' in favour of Sevilla, who beat AS Roma on penalties on Wednesday.

Sevilla claimed a record-extending seventh Europa League title as they beat Jose Mourinho's Roma in Budapest.

Paulo Dybala opened the scoring with a tidy left-footed finish in the 34th minute, with the La Liga outfit levelling through an own-goal by Gianluca Mancini.

The game went into extra-time before a penalty shootout, where Jose Luis Mendilibar's team secured the win after Gonzalo Montiel converted his retaken penalty.

Jose Mourinho cuts an angry figure on the touchline. Image: Alamy

Sevilla's victory over Roma, though, didn't go down well among fans on social media as they made their feelings known towards the showdown.

They believe the contest was 'rigged' as disgruntled supporters referenced Fernando's supposed handball in the box and the retaken penalty in the shootout.

One Twitter user wrote: "This game was rigged. Roma and Mourinho were robbed. Football lost today. I don't understand how Sevilla got away with a blatant handball."

A second tweeted: "The AS Roma vs Sevilla game was rigged against Jose Mourinho. It should not have gone to penalties."

A third added: "This match was clearly rigged for Sevilla."

A fourth said: "Rigged for Sevilla, Roma Robbed."

Another commented: "This was so rigged for Sevilla to win. Absolutely can't stand then."

After the result, Mourinho gave his runners-up medal to a young fan in the crowd while Mendilibar spoke of the importance of scoring straight after the break.

"When they scored against us, you think that it will be very difficult to score against them. The equaliser came quickly in the second half and gave us the strength to continue in the fight to win the game," said the Sevilla boss.

"I’m happy to be here, to have won for the club, which was having a hard time when we got here. We have done something good that can have repercussions for the good of the club.

"When I take a holiday, I will know what we have done. We started badly, they played comfortably. And then, in the second half, we changed and it was tough.

"In extra time, nothing happened, but we had the success of the penalties."

Topics: Fan Reactions, Sevilla, AS Roma, Jose Mourinho, Football

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

@NasJabbar