BERLIN: Ghana international Bernard Tekpetey was left red-faced after firefighters had to break into his home to deal with a smoking cooking pot while he was at a Bundesliga match, reports in Germany said.
The 20-year-old right winger, who is back at Schalke 04 after a loan spell in Austria, was an unused replacement for Saturday's 2-1 home win against Hoffenheim.
While he sat hoping to come on, with his family watching in Gelsenkirchen, the pot was still cooking. It triggered a fire alarm as smoke poured from the flat. Firefighters forced their way in after a call from the neighbours, according to German daily Bild.
The incident happened at 10pm (2100 GMT) local time on Saturday, no one was injured and Tekpetey arrived home half an hour after the drama.
The forward made two appearances for Ghana at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations and has just returned to Schalke after a six-month loan spell at Austrian side Altach.
He moved to Schalke from Ghana side Unistar SA in February 2016.