A Hong Kong doll maker's site crashed Friday after Manchester United's German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger threatened legal action over a Nazi figurine that bears a striking resemblance to him.
Schweinsteiger announced Thursday he would sue Dragon in Dream (DiD) over the Nazi-uniform-clad figurine which looks like him and is named "Bastian", a member of Schweinsteiger's management team confirmed to SID, the sports subsidiary of AFP.
Hong Kong-based DiD's website was intermittently available on Friday afternoon.
The company, which also manufactures replicas of former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and former British prime minister Winston Churchill, was not available for comment when contacted by AFP.
The company had previously denied that they had created the dolls to look like any footballer, according to German newspaper Bild, and said it was purely coincidental that the Nazi doll resembled Schweinsteiger.
"We thought that all Germans look like that," company employee Patrick Chan said, adding that Bastian is a popular name in Germany.
The 30-centimetre tall figure is marketed as the "World War II German Army Supply Duty Bastian" doll and costs around $130.
It comes with multiple outfits including a cap with the swastika symbol, a reversible winter jacket, wool gloves and a steel helmet.
Thirty-one-year-old Schweinsteiger was named captain of the German team last year after Philipp Lahm's international retirement.
The Manchester United midfielder was also a key member of the squad that won the World Cup in 2014.
A Hong Kong doll maker’s site crashed Friday after Manchester United’s German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger threatened legal action over a Nazi figurine that bears a striking resemblance to him.
Schweinsteiger announced Thursday he would sue Dragon in Dream (DiD) over the Nazi-uniform-clad figurine which looks like him and is named “Bastian”, a member of Schweinsteiger’s management team confirmed to SID, the sports subsidiary of AFP.
Hong Kong-based DiD’s website was intermittently available on Friday afternoon.
The company, which also manufactures replicas of former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and former British prime minister Winston Churchill, was not available for comment when contacted by AFP.
The company had previously denied that they had created the dolls to look like any footballer, according to German newspaper Bild, and said it was purely coincidental that the Nazi doll resembled Schweinsteiger.
“We thought that all Germans look like that,” company employee Patrick Chan said, adding that Bastian is a popular name in Germany.
The 30-centimetre tall figure is marketed as the “World War II German Army Supply Duty Bastian” doll and costs around $130.
It comes with multiple outfits including a cap with the swastika symbol, a reversible winter jacket, wool gloves and a steel helmet.
Thirty-one-year-old Schweinsteiger was named captain of the German team last year after Philipp Lahm’s international retirement.
The Manchester United midfielder was also a key member of the squad that won the World Cup in 2014.
