FIFA president Sepp Blatter appeared to grasp at bank notes thrown at him by comedian Simon Brodkin
Wearing a media badge with a North Korea emblem on it, Simon Brodkin interrupted Blatter's speech
Disgraced
FIFA president Sepp Blatter sensationally had a bundle of fake banknotes
thrown over him by a comedian who gatecrashed his press conference in
Zurich today.
Englishman
Simon Brodkin - also known as Jason Bent as well as Lee Nelson - calmly
walked up to Blatter's position behind a table at the front of the
stage and placed a sum of money on the table and said: ‘This is for
North Korea 2026’.
He
then turned to address the press while Blatter waved urgently at
security guards to take him away before later announcing he would not
stand for another term as FIFA president in the new elections.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter showered with cash by comedian
They duly
arrived either side of Brodkin, but before they could remove him he
threw a huge bundle of notes into the air, which rained down around the
out-going president of football's governing body.
Brodkin, a renowned comedian, has made his name performing numerous pranks under various alter-ego guises.
Last
year he invaded the stage during a Stereo Kicks’ X-Factor performance
and attempted to join the England players on their flight to the World
Cup in Brazil.
Blatter was speaking after the date for the vote on his replacement was announced as February 26 next year.
As
Blatter took his seat, performer Simon Brodkin rose from a front-row
spot to speak and shower the FIFA president with the fake money bills
before he was ushered out of the auditorium at FIFA headquarters.
Blatter looks on bemused and calls for security as Brodkin approaches his table
Playing his comedic role as Jason Bent, Brodkin placed a load of fake bills on Blatter's table
Blatter calls for security as Brodkin addresses those in attendance during the Zurich press conference
Blatter
said he would leave the room because 'we have to clean here first.'
'This has nothing to do with football,' said Blatter, who returned
within a few minutes and quipped about the incident.
'I just called my late mother and she said, `Don't worry, it's just a lack of education,'' he said.
Shortly
after the stunt, Brodkin tweeted a photo of himself gatecrashing the
event from the account @Jason9Bent, with the message: 'Excited to be at
FIFA meeting Sepp Blatter to secure the #NorthKorea2026 World Cup."
But the comedian is not new to showing up to events uninvited.
Security attempt to escort Brodkin away as Blatter looks on frustrated from behind his table
As Brodkin was dragged away, the comedian threw a load of bank notes in the air at Blatter
Blatter was left embarrassed after a load of fake banknotes were thrown at him
Blatter looks on bemused as American dollar bills land around the FIFA president
An official at the FIFA press conference in Zurich collects the bank notes thrown by Brodkin
During
rapper West's headline set on Glastonbury Saturday, Brodkin appeared on
stage as Nelson wearing a T-shirt with 'Lee-Zus' on it before being
removed by security.
This
was again followed by him posting a photo on his Twitter account,
accompanied by the message: 'Some people were saying Kanye shouldn't
headline Glastonbury so I thought I'd give him a hand.'
At an earlier executive committee meeting, FIFA set a February 26 election date to replace Blatter.
The
incident took place at the first meeting of the world governing body's
executive committee since its corruption crisis exploded.
The
meeting in Zurich had been called to allocate the date for a special
Congress to elect a new president after Blatter's announcement last
month that he will step down.
That
decision followed mounting pressure on FIFA following a series of
arrests, including seven FIFA officials in Zurich, following an FBI
investigation and separate probes by Swiss authorities into the bidding
for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Brodkin, as Lee Nelson, disrupted Kanye West's Glastonbury set claiming it was revenge for Taylor Swift
Brodkin (left), playing his character Lee Nelson, is escorted by security off the Pyramid stage in June
There
were also revelations of bribes paid for votes for the 2010 World Cup
in South Africa and increasing concerns from FIFA's sponsors.
Blatter
has stated he wants to remain in office until the new election to be
held between December and March but UEFA wants the 79-year-old to step
down as soon as possible, and by December at the latest.
Those
pushing for Blatter to leave immediately include UEFA president Michel
Platini and other European members of FIFA's executive committee
including England's David Gill and Germany's Wolfgang Niersbach.
A
likely date of the FIFA election looks to be in mid-January - UEFA had
been pushing for December 16 but that would clash with FIFA's Club World
Cup competition in Japan.
UEFA
is also distancing itself from reports that Platini is ready to stand
for FIFA president and already has the support of four of the six
confederations, with Africa and Asia preparing to back separate
candidates.
Platini
is the clear favourite however, and were he to win then Niersbach would
be a likely successor to the Frenchman for the UEFA post.
Meanwhile,
it has been confirmed that Brazil's executive committee member Marco
Polo Del Nero will not be attending the meeting in Zurich.
Del
Nero was the delegate who suddenly returned to Brazil following the
arrests in Zurich on May 27 of the seven FIFA officials on US justice
department corruption charges.
One
of those seven, the former FIFA vice-president Jeffrey Webb from the
Cayman Islands, has agreed to be extradited to the USA from Switzerland.
Webb
appeared in court in New York on Saturday and pleaded not guilty to
charges including bribery and fraud. He was released on bail after his
family posted a 10million US dollar (£6.4million) bond but must remain
within 20 miles of the court and wear an electronic tag.
He was also ordered to surrender his three passports, two UK passports and one from the Cayman Islands.