The Europa League trophy is back in safe hands after it was reportedly taken from a transport vehicle in the Mexican city of Leon.

Authorities Guanajuato state, in central Mexico, claimed that the trophy has been taken after an event in the city while on tour, but was soon recovered.

The authorities tweeted out an image of the trophy safely laid in cloth to prove that it was in friendly hands, but did not provide more detail of the incident.

#PGJEInforma Que a través de elementos de la @AIC_Guanajuato es recuperada la copa @EuropaLeague tras recibir la denuncia que había sido robada del vehículo que la trasladaba posterior a un evento en @municipio_leon. pic.twitter.com/TF8sKjVRAe

— PGJE (@PGJEGUANAJUATO) April 20, 2018

While the theft of a trophy is not a regular occurrence, it’s not new.

The Jules Rimet trophy, now known as the FIFA World Cup Trophy, was famously stolen in March 1966 in London.

That trophy was taken from a stamp exhibition in Westminster, and later found under a hedge in south London by a dog named Pickles.

When the trophy was won for keeps by Brazil in 1970, it was stolen again in 1983 and was never recovered.

The 2017/18 Europa League tournament itself is in teh semi-final stages, with Atletico Madrid, Arsenal, Marseille and Salzburg all hoping to lift the trophy come May 16 in Lyon.

Culled from Goal