By Udo Toby Prince
Fifa President, Sepp Blatter, met an unexpected scene on Monday as his press conference was disrupted by a prankster.
The Swiss, who was announcing the February 26 date of the election to succeed him, was showered with fake banknotes by British ‘comedian’ Simon Brodkin.
“Cheers, Sepp. It’s all there as discussed,” he shouted as he was led away. “Thank you. Good doing business.”
Despite being arrested and released on bail on Sunday, July 19 in Zurich for conspiring to cause anarchy, the comedian still went on with his prank a day after.
Fifa has subsequently filed a criminal complaint against him for trespassing, the Zurich city police said on Tuesday.
The television personality isn’t new to controversy; here are some of his notable polemics:
On 16 March 2013, Brodkin, in character as Jason Bent, ran onto the pitch at Goodison Park and attempted to warm up with the Manchester City team ahead of their Premier League match with Everton. He was arrested and charged with pitch encroachment contrary to the Football (Offences) Act 1991. When the case came to court, the judge agreed to the charge being withdrawn and Brodkin was given a six- month conditional caution for the incident.
In 2014, dressed in a smart suit, he briefly mixed in with the England World Cup squad at Luton Airport before being removed by police.
On 8 November 2014, during Stereo Kicks’ performance on The X Factor, Brodkin invaded the stage pretending to perform alongside them. He was escorted away by the show’s floor manager, Hermione Gingold.
At Glastonbury Festival 2015, Brodkin interrupted a performance by Kanye West by running onto the stage, wearing a white T-shirt with the words “Lee-Zus”, and proceeding to join in with the performance. He was removed promptly by security.
