David Beckham's fluffed penalty kick in the shootout against Portugal cost England a place in the European Championship semifinals.
The ball Beckham kicked into the seats is going to cost someone millions.
The notorious Adidas "Roteiro" ball has attracted bids of up to US$12.4 million on an Internet auction site and promises to make a multimillionaire of the Spaniard who claimed it as it sailed through the air.
Pablo Carral, who was sitting high in Lisbon's Luz stadium, was soon made aware that he had not just acquired a souvenir when he received an offer of US$22,271 from a British newspaper.
Carral, 25, then decided to test the water by offering the ball for sale on the Spanish site of Internet auctioneers eBay (www.es.ebay.com).
Starting at US$1.24, bids for the Thailand-manufactured ball, which bears the date and venue of the game, have soared as high as Beckham's misjudged shot that led to England's elimination from the tournament.
Having received close to 150 bids for the ball, eBay Spain said Wednesday that some were hoaxes and it was making every effort to separate these from genuine ones.
"Nothing like this has ever happened before in Spain," spokeswoman Inma Solis told news agency Europa Press.
"We're checking all of the bids every minute with departments from other countries and we're canceling the bids which are false."
Carral must wait until July 22 when the auction closes to claim his expected windfall. eBay's conditions state that bids can only be withdrawn in exceptional circumstances.
"The incredible thing was that the ball reached our row because we were sitting a long way from the goal," Carral was quoted by sports daily As.
"To leave the stadium, I was guarded by two friends whilst I hid it in my clothes."
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care