Bills showered on Blatter weren't fake, it was $600 from my pocket: FIFA prankster Brodkin

British comedian Simon Brodkin was in the news this week when he disrupted a news conference by Sepp Blatter on Monday, showering the FIFA president with ‘fake money’, as it was reported around the world. Brodkin, in his avatar as a washed up Premier League footballer Jason Bent, made the whole world sit up and take notice.

Turns out, the money was not fake though. It was $600 from his own pocket.

“For me, that’s part of it,” he says. “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 told UK daily Telegraph_._

.@RealLeeNelson taken away by Swiss police following Fifa prank. pic.twitter.com/wgsKcXIXn1

— Richard Conway (@richard_conway) July 20, 2015

In his first interview after he was arrested for his stunt in Zurich that did not amuse Blatter one bit, Brodkin told Telegraph in a wide-ranging interview, that this prank was not just for comedic effect. There was well-meaning satire too.

“It is, unfortunately, serious,” he admits. “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,” Brodkin said.

As Blatter took his seat, performer Simon Brodkin rose from a front-row seat to confront him.

“This is for North Korea 2026,” Brodkin said as he put the bills on the desk in front of Blatter. “Thank you very much. As a North Korean football ambassador, I’m delighted that I’ve been able to seal the deal with FIFA and North Korea for the 2026 World Cup. It makes sense for everyone.”

Brodkin then tossed the notes into the air as security led him away.

“Here we go Sepp,” he said. “Thank you. Cheers Sepp. It’s all there, as discussed. Thank you. Good doing business.”

Blatter left the room, saying, “We have to clean here first.”

He returned a few minutes later and made a quip about the incident.

“This has nothing to do with football,” Blatter said, before adding “It’s just a lack of education.”

Brodkin’s delightful history of pranks include disrupting a performance by Kanye West at the Glastonbury festival in Britain last month, training with the Manchester City squad after intruding at Goodison Park before a game against Everton and best of all, pretending to be an English national team player and attempting to fly out with the squad before last year’s World Cup in Brazil.

Read more on that here.

Report with input from AP