(This should have been posted on June 30 – probably too late now, but then I haven’t posted much else recently)
In non-football news, the finders of Ötzi (the Iceman) have now been granted a finder’s reward (too late for one of them).
According to the Nürnberger Nachrichten (dpa), the authorities in Bolzano agreed to pay the 175,000 euros finder’s reward claimed by the Simons, who found the mummified body nineteen years ago. The courts costs of about 50,000 euros will be borne by the local government. The settlement means that the case will not have to be heard by the Italian Court of Cassation.
Vor knapp 19 Jahren ist die Gletschermumie »Ötzi» entdeckt worden, doch erst jetzt ist der Streit um den Finderlohn beigelegt worden. 175.000 Euro soll die Nürnberger Familie Simon von der Landesregierung Südtirol erhalten.
Ursprünglich wollte Südtirol den Nürnberger Urlaubern nur 50.000 Euro für den Sensationsfund zahlen. Auch zwei langjährige Prozesse brachten kein Ergebnis. Nach Angaben von Anwalt Rudolph muss die Südtiroler Landesregierung nun auch mehr als 48.000 Euro Prozesskosten schultern.
There are some reports in English on Italian sites, e.g. Iceman reward row settled
A long-running battle over a finder’s fee for Italy’s famous Iceman mummy has been settled.
Authorities in this province on the Austrian border said on Monday they would meet the 175,000-euro ($215,000) demand of the German couple who found the Iceman in 1991.
The money, which includes legal costs incurred during the wrangle, will go to Erika Simon, 73, who lost her husband and co-finder Helmut in a mountain accident six years ago when he was 67. …
The Iceman, 159 cm tall, 46 years old, arthritic and infested with whipworm, has since become familiar to viewers of some 30 TV science documentaries the world over.
Lately his fame has been boosted by suggestions that, like some of his Egyptian counterparts, he may wield a curse.
Seven people who have had something to do with him have died in allegedly mysterious circumstances.
Hey, it could be worse. He could have been an American senator having an affair with horse (warning, this is satire):
http://www.theonion.com/video/antigay-senators-horse-affair-caught-on-tape,20707/