Are medals symbolic gesture or the prize for the players' performances?
Jesus fucking christ.
Definition of symbolism
1 : the art or practice of using symbols especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible by means of visible or sensuous representations: such as
a : artistic imitation or invention that is a method of revealing or suggesting immaterial, ideal, or otherwise intangible truth or states
b : the use of conventional or traditional signs in the representation of divine beings and spirits
This doesn't prove that football players do it for for symbolism.