A French man who dedicated almost a decade of his life to completing a world record has been denied victory over a little detail.
Richard Plaud spent eight years of his life trying to get the Guinness Book of World Records to recognize him for the largest replica of the Eiffel Tower.
Using 706,900 matchsticks and over 50 pounds of glue to create the iconic French landmark, Plaud finished the piece when it hit approximately 23.6 feet.
The current record, which was confirmed back in 2009 and is held by Toufic Daher from Lebanon, stands at approximately 21.4 feet tall and was created using six million matches, but Plaud's rendition is almost two feet bigger, which would give him the edge in securing the victory.
However, a minor detail has seen the French man disqualified from the rankings and it's all down to the match type that he used.
Taking to Facebook, the council worker for a local authority said that an official from the Guinness Book of World Records told him that because the matchsticks he used were not commercially available, which meant that they would not be recognized as matchsticks, his attempt would be disqualified.
He also added that the organization said that matches can not be cut, disassembled, or distorted beyond recognition, and they allegedly were in Plaud's case.
"The Guinness Book judges have delivered their verdict, without actually seeing my turn," Plaud wrote in a post, clearly exasperated at the organization's remarks. "BIG DISILLUSION, DISAPPOINTMENT AND INCOMPREHENSION. Tell me that the 706,900 rods stuck one by one are not matches!!?? And they are too cut to the point of being unrecognizable!!??"
The French native came to a deal with a manufacturer so that he could receive personalized matches without the sulphur heads, after he spent ages trying to cut them off. And because these unique matches are not commercially available, he was subsequently disqualified from the ranking.
Speaking to local French outlet, Le Parisien, Plaud opened up about how much this record meant to him after beginning his quest back in 2015.
"Having a world record was a childhood dream. I always had that in the back of my mind," he told the outlet.
But all is seemingly not lost thanks to a remarkable U-turn decision.
In a recent update, it was stated that Guinness will still review Plaud's work as they were initially too quick to dismiss it.
According to a report by NBC News, Mark McKinley, director of Guinness' central records services said: "It’s the job of our records management team to be thorough and fastidious in reviewing evidence to make sure the playing field is level for everyone attempting a Guinness World Records title, however, it does appear we might have been a little heavy-handed with this application."
He also added: "We will make contact with the record holder again as well as review rules for similar records as a priority, to see what can be done."
So far, there has been no formal update on the case since McKinley's statement, but we've got our fingers crossed for Plaud.
