Schweini Roasts Butcher

Fetishists flocking to Augsburg for the chance to get their hands on a young soccer player lathered in mustard and onions were disappointed to discover this week that the offer of a piping hot "Schweini" did not mean the chance to indulge in a bit of food play with a millionaire soccer star.

However, they could not have been more disappointed and miffed than the meat wholesaler who found himself in court for breaching the individual rights of the Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, the man saddled with the nickname at the heart of the case.

When the 22-year-old Germany international found out that the butcher from Aichach-Friedberg was selling bratwurst under the "Schweini" name, the Bayern star took offense and went in search of redress with the help of his club's powerful legal team and his own representation.

Butcher hauled over the barbeque coals

The poor Fleischer didn't stand a chance despite his protestations that he had used the "Schweini" moniker purely out of its literal meaning in German -- "piggy". As the sausages he was selling under the name were made of pork, he thought he had a good case. He was wrong.

During the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany, Schweinsteiger and his Bayern teammate Lukas Podolski took the surprisingly intelligent step of protecting their nicknames -- "Schweini" and "Poldi" -- by registering them as brand names.

The district court in Munich which heard the case ruled against the sausage after due deliberation and the butcher was convicted of infringing the rights of the claimant. He was ordered to provide details of the profits made on his "Schweini" sales, so that an evaluation of damages to be paid to the soccer player could be made.

An initial figure of 200,000 euros ($267,000) in damages was suggested by Schweinsteiger's legal team. No final decision on the costs had been made at the time of publication.