ISSA DIOP sparked a frantic search involving four groundsman, a player welfare officer, a body scanner and a magnet – after losing his wedding ring against Fulham.
The West Ham defender, 23, came on as a 63rd-minute substitute to replace the crocked Angelo Ogbonna at the London Stadium.
But as he was about to come on, the fourth official did the usual jewellery checks – and the Frenchman had forgotten to take off his ring.
Eagle-eyed fans then spotted Diop use his teeth to force it off.
But before he could catch the ring and hand it over to player care manager Hugo Scheckter, it had dropped on to the turf at the edge of the pitch.
The substitution took place and Diop ran on to join Fabian Balbuena and Aaron Cresswell in the Hammers back line.
However, Scheckter was left trying to find the precious band.
He was on his hands and knees desperately looking in front of the dugouts for around five minutes but could not spot it anywhere.
Knowing the importance of locating the ring, Scheckter recruited the help of the groundsmen, the body scanner used by security personnel and the magnet.
Thankfully for Mr and Mrs Diop, it was mission accomplished for the squadron as the treasure hunt was over and the ring eventually found.
Scheckter tweeted: “It took 4 Groundsman, 1 magnet & a security style body scanner but we found it! Huge relief coyi #whufc”
How much the ring cost is unclear – although it is unlikely to match the £615,000 Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly spent on Georgina Rodriguez’s flash diamond sparkler.
It was double relief for West Ham as Tomas Soucek struck in the 91st minute to break the deadlock before Ademola Lookman fluffed his Panenka penalty in the eight minute of stoppage time to waste a glorious chance for Fulham to equalise.
Cottagers boss Scott Parker fumed: “You can miss a penalty, but when you take one like that you have to hit the back of the net.
“He’s made a mistake, not because he’s missed a penalty because I’ve not got an issue with that. But when you decide to take a penalty like that, at that moment in a game as well, it needs to go in.
“And if it doesn’t, you need to understand you put yourself right on show. Ade understands that, he’s disappointed more than anyone.
“The team have let him know, I have let him know and we move on now.”
It took 4 Groundsman, 1 magnet & a security style body scanner but we found it! Huge relief
#coyi #whufc https://t.co/u3HJgf3RbP
— Hugo Scheckter (@HugoScheckter) November 7, 2020
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