Judge dismisses Beckham's libel suit against mag

A judge on Monday dismissed David Beckham's $25 million libel lawsuit against a celebrity magazine that ran an article saying the married, British soccer star slept with a call girl.

US District Judge Manuel Real said Beckham, whose wife Victoria was a member of the Spice Girls singing group, is a public figure and claims of adultery against him would be of interest to the public.

Real also said there was no evidence In Touch Weekly magazine exhibited malice when it published the story about the LA Galaxy player, which is key because under US law, evidence of malice is an important benchmark for winning a libel lawsuit.

Attorneys for Beckham said they will appeal Real's decision and continue their fight against US-based In Touch and its owner, Bauer Publishing Company.

"They have not provided one shred of evidence to support the claim this story is true," a spokesman for Beckham's attorneys said in a statement.

"David Beckham's clear evidence proved that this is without foundation."

"Unfortunately, the US legal system requires us to show that the magazine acted maliciously," the statement said.

In their $25 million libel lawsuit filed last fall, Beckham's attorneys also named as a defendant Irma Nici, the $10,000 per-night call girl originally from Europe, who was quoted in the story saying she slept with Beckham.

The soccer star separately sued over the story in Germany last year, and his attorneys said they won that case and are awaiting the awarding of damages.

Beckham, 35, and Victoria have been married for 11 years. They have three children and are awaiting the birth of their fourth child later this year.