Prank Gone Wrong? Comedian Simon To Be Charged For Assaulting Sepp Blatter With Dollars

Comedian Simon Brodkin has revealed the money he showered
over FIFA President Sepp Blatter was $600 of his own money and that he received
all of it back from the police. Brodkin, best known for his comedy alter egos
Lee Nelson and Jason Bent, evaded security to storm a press conference at FIFA
headquarters in Zurich on Monday and threw the dollar bills at Blatter.

He was arrested and charged with trespassing by the Swiss
authorities on Tuesday before being released to return to the UK.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Brodkin said the
money, supposedly to secure the World Cup for North Korea in 2026, was from his
own bank account. He said: ‘If you’re going to do it, you do it properly. The
FIFA guys couldn’t believe it. In the end it cost me nothing because they gave
it all back. I can assure you there might be corruption in FIFA, but the Swiss
police are corruption-free. They gave back every penny. ‘Here you go, sir.”

Brodkin must now wait and see whether the Swiss prosecutor
feels a trial is necessary.

He added: ‘It is, unfortunately, serious. Am I worried? I
know I’ve been charged and I don’t know if I can say too much. I can say that
it would be the greatest irony of all if I was the first person to go to prison
over events in FIFA HQ.’

The stunt was a satirical swipe at the endemic corruption at
the heart of FIFA that is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the FBI.

Brodkin calmly walked up to Blatter’s position as he
prepared to start a press conference and placed a wad of US dollars on the
table, saying: ‘This is for North Korea 2026.’

He then turned to address the press while Blatter, who later
announced he would not stand for another term as FIFA President in forthcoming
elections having resigned earlier this year, waved urgently at security guards
to take him away.

Before he could be removed, Brodkin threw a huge bundle of
notes into the air, which rained down on Blatter. 

Explaining the reasons behind his prank, Brodkin said: ‘I
guess that I’ve looked at people in the public eye who maybe could do with
being brought down to earth a little bit. I think FIFA and Sepp Blatter are
probably in that mix. Even the FIFA security you could sense were smiling and
joking about it. Sepp, not so sure. After arresting me and me being in a cell
for several hours, the Swiss police showed me that the video had made it on to
the website of a big national paper. There was a warmth there.’

However, Brodkin was still charged with trespass and may
have to return to Switzerland for a trial.

A police spokesman said: ‘He will be charged for trespassing
because he wasn’t allowed to enter the building. If there will be a trial it is
still to be decided by the prosecutor. Trespassing in Switzerland is just
prosecuted by request like other minor crimes.’

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