October 23 – German captain Bastian Schweinsteiger is reported to be considering taking legal action against a Hong Kong company making Nazi dolls that bear a striking resemblance to him.
The 31-year-old Manchester United midfielder’s management company has put the matter into the hands of their German-based lawyers according to German tabloid Bild.
The 30-cms doll, named ‘World War II Army Supply Duty – Bastian’, is made in China by Dragon in Dream. The company told Bild any resemblance was “purely coincidental”.
“We don’t sell any figures which resemble footballers. It is a complete coincidence that the figure ‘Bastian’ looks like Schweinsteiger,” a spokesman said. “We thought that all Germans look like that. Bastian is also a very common name in Germany.”
The figure comes with a steel helmet, a woollen cap bearing a swastika, and a dagger. It also has outfit changes.
Media lawyer Ulrich Amelung told Bild he believed Schweinsteiger would have strong legal grounds on which to stop the doll from being sold.
“This is a clear violation of Schweinsteiger’s personal rights,” he said. ” Every person has the right to their own image. Furthermore the depiction of a swastika-wearing Wehrmacht soldier constitutes gross defamation and offence.”
Bild described the doll, which sells for around $120, as a “dirty Chinese slur” against the German skipper and by Thursday evening the company’s website depicting the smiling doll had been taken down.
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