BLAZING RIVALRY
Watch Leeds fan pay £500 for Man Utd hospitality tickets at charity auction – just to set them on FIRE on stage
THIS is the shocking moment a Leeds fan paid £500 for Manchester United hospitality tickets at a charity auction - just to set them on fire on stage.
The corporate hospitality tickets were struggling to get past the £100 mark until the man's bid pushed them up to £500, on the condition he could burn them.
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In a video, the fan - believed to support the Red Devils' rivals' Leeds - can be seen taking a lighter to the corner of the tickets before they go up in flames.
He then places the tickets into a bucket that he raises up to show the hall, hailed with football chants and cheering from the audience.
The winning bidder was attending a charity ball at Queens Hotel in Leeds on Saturday night in memory of Sharon Witcher, a mum who passed away two years ago from cancer.
Danny Waite, 32, from Leeds, posted the video to Twitter where it swiftly went viral.
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He said: "It was a good night. That was one of the auction prizes, two tickets to Manchester United Corporate Hospitality Experience.
"So the Leeds fan bought it and just set fire to it. I know he loves a lot of Leeds games, he's a big fan.
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"There weren't many United fans bidding on them.
"There were two bids previously at like £50 and then £100.
"It was stuck at £100 for quite a while and then he shouted out £500, and said 'I'll give you £500 to burn them'.
"So obviously, as it's a charity event the auctioneer just said yes.
He added: "Everyone was cheering, there were a lot of Leeds fans in the room.
"It was quite funny and it was £500 going straight to charity so obviously everyone was quite jovial.
"A lad that I played football with, his mum died two years ago so we do it every year to raise money for St. Gemma's."
This bid made up part of the final £27,000 which was raised on the night for St. Gemma's Hospice.
One person commented on Danny's video: "500 quid goes to charity. Don't see the problem."
Another said: "Fully endorse this."
A third wrote: "Gets them to print them off again once he's sobered up."
But a less-than-impressed social media user said: "Wow, the mentality of a toddler. Bitter."
A spokesperson for St Gemma's Hospice said: "We are aware that one of our incredible supporters organised her annual charity ball in aid of St Gemma’s Hospice this weekend, in memory of her mum.
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"The Hospice were not involved with any of the fundraising on the night with this being her own event, and we do not know the guest in question.
"The event raised over £20,000 for the Hospice last year, every penny of which is used to benefit local patients with life threatening illnesses and support their families."
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