Oct 11, 2006, 15:06 GMT
Magdeburg, Germany - Football's world governing body FIFA applied to a court in Germany Wednesday for the return of the lots of the 32 teams used as part of the World Cup draw last year.
The lots - which were used in a test run ahead of the December 9 draw in Leipzig - later appeared for auction on the internet site ebay.
In the civil case in Magdeburg, FIFA is suing a 35-year-old man for the return of the paper lots.
The man said he was given the lots from a decorator friend who found them in a waste container at Leipzig Congress Centre, the venue for the draw.
His lawyer said it was no longer possible to return the lots.
A judgement in the case is expected on November 8, but presiding judge Ernst-Wilhem Schulze urged the parties to reach an out-of-court settlement.
Bids on ebay last December for the German lot alone exceeded 50,000 euros (62,000 dollars), but the auction was later stopped by a German court.
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