Wayward wealth

Beckham penalty miss draws exorbitant auction bids

MADRID (Reuters) -- The ball that David Beckham blasted into the stands when he missed a penalty in England's Euro 2004 shootout defeat to Portugal has attracted bids of up to €10 million 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 (www.es.ebay.com), 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 on Wednesday.

"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 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.

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 but after a little over 48 hours it had reached an astronomical €10 million ($12.37 million).

The auction is open until July 22 and eBay says bids can only be withdrawn in special circumstances.

Pablo Carral, a 25-year-old Deportivo Coruna fan, admitted he could hardly believe his luck when the ball sailed into his hands.

"The incredible thing was that the ball reached us because we were so far from the goal," he said.

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