Southampton’s Premier League match with Aston Villa was suspended late in the first half after a drone was spotted inside St Mary’s.
Referee Michael Salisbury was alerted to the drone hovering above the Southampton penalty area before taking both teams off the pitch.
The players re-emerged 10 minutes later after police had given the all-clear.
Play was halted because of a similar incident during last season’s game between Brentford and Wolves.
After the match resumed at St Mary’s, Ollie Watkins’ second-half header earned Villa a 1-0 win to leave Southampton rooted to the bottom of the table.