World's best ref Collina: Beckham is my favourite player

The world's No1 referee, Italian Pierluigi Collina, says Real Madrid and England skipper David Beckham is his favourite player.

"There is one player I'd like to mention out of a purely subjective feeling, without recounting incidents or explaining whys and wherefores," Collina writes in his autobiography, The Rules of the Game.

"If I was simply responding to the question: 'Who is your favourite player?' I'd say: 'David Beckham.'"