The Landshut Cannibals did a deal with the local brothel Lustra which will see the hockey players wear bright pink warm-up shirts complete with a lipstick-covered mouth logo, the motto “The world could be so sexy” and the silhouette of a woman in high heels with a thong dangling from her hand.

Jürgen Eichbauer, spokesman for the team, told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper he they had wanted to attract attention with a new sponsor – and had therefore approached the Lustra brothel.

Not long afterwards it appeared the tactic was working. People were talking about it – but another new sponsor, fashion chain Wöhrl, cancelled their deal.

The company had only signed the deal on September 13, and two days later the Cannibals’ deal with the brothel was made public. By this Wednesday it was all over, the Wochenblatt local paper reported, as the brothel idea did not fit with the values of the company.

“Wöhrl has ended the partnership with the Cannibals. But perhaps there is a way back,” the firm’s marketing manager Philipp Czeyka told the paper.

The Cannibals had less concern about any threat to their image, said Eichbauer.

He told the Süddeutsche Zeitung, “The operators of the brothel are legal people who do their business honestly and pay taxes. No wild-west methods are used, and the women are not forced. Prostitution is the oldest business in the world and therefore the cooperation is not objectionable to us.”

He said the players had accepted the idea of the bright pink shirts with a grin, and were not worried about wearing the colour.

The Local/hc