Carrefour recalls fake World Cup balls

Carrefour staff discovered the balls resembling Adidas�s official �Teamgeist�, or Team Spirit, model soon after their delivery and withdrew them on June 7 after about 40 had been sold, the Shanghai Morning Post newspaper reported.

Carrefour was allowing purchasers to return them at double the initial purchase price of about 60 yuan (�5), the report said. Authentic Adidas World Cup balls retail in China from 200-990 yuan.

Those were not the first fake World Cup balls to pop up in China. Customs agents last month confiscated 600 balls stamped �FIFA 2006 World Cup Germany� without authorisation from Fifa.

Such copyright piracy is rampant across China, although the government has sought to boost awareness in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games.

Reports said Carrefour�s balls had been provided by a company in the nearby city of Hangzhou, identified by the Chinese name Sudiman Industrial and Trade Co Ltd.

That firm had no listed phone number and no one was available to comment for Carrefour.

Carrefour, which operates 70 stores in China, had already notified Adidas of the action and apologised, the reports said.