Beckham's Euro ball returns from orbit

The ball that David Beckham blasted into the stands when he missed a penalty in England's Euro 2004 shootout defeat by Portugal has attracted over 100 bids on an internet auction site. Beckham's wild spot-kick contributed to his side's quarterfinal elimination, and collectors have decided it is worth battling for the ultimate memento of an error the England captain would much rather forget.  But the auction has created a headache for the managers of Spanish site of internet auctioneers eBay who have been struggling to sort out genuine bids from those of pranksters trying to hike up the price. "Nothing like this has ever occurred in Spain before," company spokesperson Inma Solis told Spanish news agency Europa Press overnight.  "We are having to check out each bid with our departments in other countries and are trying to cancel out those we believe to be false."   The 25-year-old Pablo Carral, Spanish football fan who claimed the trophy when it landed in his arms in Row Q of the Luz stadium in Lisbon decided to put the ball up for sale on eBay after a British newspaper offered to buy it for 18,000 euros.  The ball, embossed with the names of the teams, the date and match venue, went on sale on Monday at a starting price of one euro and in short time it had reached € 23,650.  “The incredible thing was that the ball reached us because we were so far” said Carral.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.