A Hong Kong based toy manufacturer is facing legal action after releasing a Nazi doll that bears a striking resemblance to the German football star Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Aside from their range of Nazi soldiers, the manufacturing company responsible, Dragon in Dreams (DiD), also produces figurines depicting Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, and World War I soldiers.
The Bastian doll comes with a steel helmet, woollen cap complete with swastika, a dagger, as well as a winter jacket and gloves, and other accessories like loaves of bread and a set of mess tins.
German media expressed their outrage on Thursday at the depiction of their football captain, who won the world cup with Germany in 2014, as a Nazi, labelling the toy "filth". The tabloid Bild reported that Schweinsteiger's lawyers had begun proceedings to have the doll, which is due to sell for around £78, pulled from the range.
"This is a clear violation of Schweinsteiger's personal rights. Every person has the right to their own image. Furthermore the depiction of a swastika-wearing Wehrmacht soldier constitutes gross defamation and offence," lawyer Ulrich Amelung told the paper.
Patrick Chan, a spokesman for DiD, told Bild that the resemblance to the 31-year-old star was just a coincidence.
"The figure is based on a typical German. We believe that all Germans look like that. Bastian is also a very common name in Germany," Chan told Bild.
Schweinsteiger left German side Bayern Munich in July, and joined Manchester on a three-year contract worth a reported £14.4m.
Tagged in Manchester United