Mystery solved as replica World Cup returned to Sunderland Fans' Museum

The golden trophy was on display along with Brazil and Santos shirts and other memorabilia as part of an ongoing tribute to football legend Pele following his death in December, 2022.

However, following the Bristol City game on Saturday February 18, the famous trophy went missing.

After being notified that the trophy had been spotted with four men travelling on a train from Sunderland to Newcastle, museum founder Michael Ganley put out an appeal on social media for its safe return.

The mystery behind the disappearance evoked memories of 1966 when the then Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from its display cabinet at Westminster's Central Hall and was discovered in a hedge in London by Pickles the dog.

In a social media post on Sunday morning (February 19) Michael said: “Do the right thing please, or Pickles will hound you out. Not the smoothest of steals either. We do have nice clear pictures, so come on and get it brought back or your faces will be displayed for all to comment on.”

The post provoked a massive response on social media, including from Bristol City fans and on Monday morning it appeared to have the desired effect when Michael received a message from a Bristol City fan to say they had “found the trophy in their hotel room next to a doner kebab” and it would be “posted it back in the next couple of days”.

Michael then had an anxious weight to see if the trophy materialised otherwise he had said he would be contacting the police.

Last night (Wednesday, February 22) Michael posted a video on the museum’s Facebook page showing him unwrapping a parcel to reveal the replica trophy.

On the parcel was a message which simply read “please accept out apologies, BCFC fans”.

Alongside the video, Michael posted a message which said: “Oooooooooh look what's back. Remember folks we've had a spate of bad luck recently with break-ins, roof damage and lead theft. We work six or seven days a week without financial reward, so let's keep the positives and move forward

“Thank you for the shares and positive comments of support and we hope to see you all soon.”

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Michael chose to initially not contact the police, feeling the perpetrator had “probably done something daft which they would regret the following morning”.

He added: “I realised (someone) had probably had a few too many drinks and so I wanted to give (them) the chance to do the right thing. That’s why I made the post a bit light-hearted.

"However, at the end of the day we can’t have people stealing from us.”

On the day of the fixture the museum had welcomed a number of Robins supporters who Michael had taken on a tour of the exhibits.

He added: “We are a tourist attraction and welcome anyone to have a look at what’s on display.”