The Devil's Playground: ManU Fans Put Memorial Scarves On eBay

Some ManU Fans Sabotaging Online Auctions Of Commemorative Scarves

Some fans who attended Sunday's Manchester City-Manchester United match tried to "sabotage the auction of mementoes handed out'' as a tribute to those ManU players killed in the Munich Air crash 50 years ago this week, according to Kevin Eason of the LONDON TIMES. ManU execs placed more than 76,000 commemorative scarves on each seat before the game, and some fans "claim that their scarves were stolen before they got to their seats." The fans' "disappointment turned to anger as word spread that adverts for the memorial scarves had started to appear on eBay" within hours of the game ending. Some ManU fans placed false bids for the scarves, including one auction that "spiralled from a first bid of [US$19.53] to ... a tongue-in-cheek offer of [US$19,521,912.55]." The false bids and protests by United fans "had an effect," as more than 70 items for sale on the auction Web site "had been reduced to a handful last night as some sellers decided to pull out rather than risk the ire" of fellow fans (LONDON TIMES, 2/12).