What a humiliation

ZURICH. — FIFA president Sepp Blatter was ambushed by a protester yesterday with the British comedian humiliating the most powerful man in football by showering him with fake notes and claiming he was trying to buy rights for North Korea to host the World Cup in 2026.

Blatter appeared shaken, as he sat to address a media conference, after a FIFA executive committee meeting and the FIFA Press conference had originally been scheduled for 1pm before being delayed by an hour.

The Swiss veteran administrator, who has been with FIFA for about 40 years, also announced that he will not stand for re-election. When the media conference was about to get underway yesterday, Blatter briefly walked off stage at his press conference after the protester showered him in fake money.

Englishman Simon Brodkin — whose comedy creations include footballer Jason Bent and Lee Nelson — calmly walked up to Blatter’s position behind a table at the front of the stage and placed a wad of fake 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 the new elections having resigned earlier this year, waved urgently at security guards to take him away.

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. Earlier this year he surprised rapper Kanye West at Glastonbury by appearing on stage with him unannounced.

Blatter was speaking after the date for the vote on his replacement was announced as February 26 next year.

As Blatter took his seat, 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 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.”

The incident took place at the first meeting of the world governing body’s executive committee since its corruption crisis exploded. 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.

Meanwhile, after months of evading the question and refusing to rule it out, Blatter has finally confirmed that he won’t seek re-election.

The Swiss football chief promised in June to lay down his mandate as the most important man in the world game, but with no elections possible until late February there had been growing fears that the controversial septuagenarian was plotting a bid to restore himself as president — fears lay to bed yesterday.

“I will not be a candidate for the election in 2016,” he confirmed. “There will be a new president. I can’t be the new president. On February 26, FIFA will have a new president,” Blatter told a press conference where he was repeatedly asked whether he would stand for re-election.

Blatter also announced that FIFA is to set up an 11-man task-force to propose reforms aimed at cleaning itself up.

FIFA said the proposals for reform included “centralised integrity checks for Executive Committee members, the introduction of term limits, higher standards of governance at all levels of football structures.”

The task force would present its conclusions to the executive committee in September and this in turn would suggest reforms to FIFA’s Congress. — Mailonline/Mirror/SuperSport.