Severance pay: Gruesome social media footage reveals West Ham supporter lost a FINGER during frenzied goal celebrations

One West Ham supporter will be returning home from his side's away fixture against Genk a little lighter than he arrived after a grisly social media clip showed that the unknown fan severed a FINGER during goal celebrations.

Footage went viral late on Thursday showing a steward picking up the severed digit from the floor at the Cegeka Arena and placing it on a barricade in front of a group of West Ham supporters who had travelled to Belgium for their side's Europa League tie away in Genk. 

Several fans hit out at the pitch-side stewards for their apparent lack of urgency in dealing with the lost finger, as they implored the security staff to place the finger in ice in the hope that it could be reunited with its original owner.

The football fan, who has not been identified, is understood to have lost his finger while banging on a fence after the Hammers scored one of their two goals in the game that finished in a 2-2 draw.

Algerian ace Said Benrahma scored both of West Ham's goals. Joseph Paintsil had put Genk ahead after four minutes, with the hosts equalizing three minutes from time through Tomas Soucek's own-goal.

The draw was enough to guarantee that David Moyes' Hammers will take part in knockout European football this season as the unbeaten Londoners stormed to the top of Group H – but the result certainly came at a significant cost to the now nine-fingered Hammers fan.

The gruesome incident left many fans shaken, with several taking to social media to detail the situation.

"F*cking hell, just see some poor hammer lose his finger as he was celebrating our second goal," one fan wrote on Twitter alongside a picture of the severed finger.

"Took the medical staff about 10 minutes to get some f*cking ice – absolutely pathetic. I hope the man's finger is saved."

"I hope for the West Ham fan that finger can be saved," fumed another unimpressed viewer.

"If not, [Genk] and these two stewards should be [held] responsible. Totally not capable for the job," 

Others, though, couldn't help but see the funny side: "Poor fella. That’s going to be a hell of a hangover," said one.

"Imagine getting home from a European away day, the missues is already fuming you have had a three-day bender and you have to explain this," wrote another.