A judge in Rostock, Germany, has ruled that soccer-stadium operators may recover damages from people who run naked onto the soccer field during matches.  This is evidently a problem plaguing the world of European soccer, and foreign streakers have been infiltrating the US as well, as shown by a British man who stripped just after halftime of the Super Bowl two years ago.

You would think it would be difficult to measure damages caused by streaking, but in this case the soccer club in question was fined 20,000 Euros by the German soccer federation for an incident during a match in 2003, and the court ruled that the club could seek compensation for the fine from the streakers.

In a nice touch, the three men involved apparently argued that it was the club’s fault for not providing sufficient security — a "stop-me-before-I-streak-again" defense, I guess — but the judge had no trouble rejecting that.  "If you are caught stealing, you can’t argue that the shop owner should have better protected his goods," he said.

The club’s lawyer said his client hoped the ruling would deter others from displaying their own goods in future sports matches, especially the World Cup this summer.

Link: Yahoo! News