German Football Stars Win Vibrator Claim

A German sex shop chain has been ordered to pay football stars Michael Ballack and Oliver Kahn £34,500 each after using their names for vibrators without permission.

The sex toys, dubbed 'Michael B' and 'Olli K', had been marketed before Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006.

Although the surnames of the two German football stars were not used, it was clear they referred to the Chelsea midfielder and Bayern Munich goalkeeper.

The pair sued company Beate Uhset for unauthorised use of their names.

"The products have been withdrawn," said a spokeswoman for the company.

Beate Uhse is Europe's largest porn retailer, selling erotic lingerie, sex toys and videos by mail-order and through its chain of more than 300 sex shops in 10 countries.

It had annual sales of more than £150m and the business is growing at around 11% a year.