'Beckham's ball' sells for $35k

Beckham kicked the ball high over the goal

The ball David Beckham kicked high over the goal in the penalty shootout against Portugal during Euro 2004, has fetched around $US35,000 on ebay.com

The ball was sold by Spanish fan Pablo Carral who caught the ball during the match.

He plans to spend the money, equal to almost £19,000, on a new car and on a holiday to New Zealand, it is reported.

Ebay received numerous fake bids for the ball including one for £6.7 million.

England's defeat in the match caused them to be knocked out of the Euro 2004 quarter-finals.

Caught from row 17

Beckham took the first kick in the penalty shootout, sending the ball sky-high after his left foot slipped on the turf.

Pablo Carral managed to catch the ball, jumping from his seat in the 17th row.

With the help of a friend he smuggled the ball back to his home in La Coruna, north-west Spain, he is quoted as telling a sports newspaper.

The ball was stored in a local bank while Carral put it up for sale on internet auction site ebay.com, where bids started at one euro (67p).

Charity

According to Spanish newspaper El Mundo the successful bidder was Canadian.

Since then, Canadian Internet casino Goldenpalace.com has claimed possession of the ball.

In a statement Goldenpalace.com CEO, Richard Rowe, said: "We plan on raising a lot more money for charity than we did paying for this ball.

"Expect to see the ball travelling around the world in an effort to raise money for charitable organisations."