Prankster makes it rain fake cash on Sepp Blatter at FIFA event

A prankster's attempt to "make it rain" fake dollar bills on Sepp Blatter at a press conference Monday morning led to a stormy exit from the embattled FIFA president — and a whirlwind of Twitter and Vine jokes.

According to The Guardian, British comedian Simon Brodkin had gained illegal entry to FIFA's headquarters in Zurich ahead of its scheduled executive committee meeting today.

The meeting, which was called to set an election date for the organization's next president, marked Blatter's first public appearance since resigning from his post last month amid mounting pressure from sponsors and international soccer chiefs over an ongoing corruption scandal.

Blatter, 79, was only just beginning to speak at FIFA's news conference about the forthcoming election when Brodkin, whose stage name is Lee Nelson, walked up to where he was sitting behind a table on stage.

"This is for North Korea in 2026," said the comedian, handing over what appeared to be a large stack of U.S. dollars in an apparent World Cup bid.

Blatter immediately called for his security guards, who came over to remove Brodkin — but just as they started to, the comedian picked up the stack of fake money and showered it all over and around FIFA's outgoing president.

Sepp Blatter, FIFA President, showered with money

9 years ago

Duration 0:46

Sepp Blatter is target of stunt by comedian who interrupts news conference at scandal-hit FIFA

Several reporters attending the event shared footage of the incident taking place live, shocking and, in some cases, delighting their followers on Twitter.

Blatter, who left the stage following the incident while employees cleaned up, was unimpressed with the apparent spoof on allegations of bribery influencing FIFA's previous decisions about where to hold its World Cup tournaments.

Internet people, however, very much seemed to enjoy watching Brodkin make it rain on Blatter as if he were an extra in a rap video (as illustrated by several Vines published after the prank took place.)

For those unfamiliar, "making it rain" refers to the practice of spending a lot of money at once, usually for the purpose of entertainment, on one's self and friends.

It is also used in a literal sense to reference showering someone with many dollar bills that have been tossed in the air, as popularised by artists like Fat Joe and Lil Wayne.

Brodkin is no stranger to the spotlight, it seems. He made headlines as Lee Nelson just last month for running onstage during Kanye West's performance at the Glastonbury music festival, and snuck onto a soccer field to practice with England's Manchester City team before a game in 2013.

He also tried to hop onto a plane with England's national soccer team as they left for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The increasingly-notorious comedian also addressed his most recent FIFA prank on Twitter just moments after it happened using an account named for one of his characters, Jason Bent.

Brodkin's stunt delayed Monday's press conference in Zurich slightly, but when Blatter did return to speak he assured those present that "I am still alive, the waves of the tsunami have not taken me away."

It was announced during the second, post-prank portion of the conference that FIFA's next presidential election would fall on Feb. 26, 2016 and that Blatter would remain in charge until that time — despite some calls for him to resign immediately.

Still, the news came as a relief to those who'd feared Blatter would do an about-turn and run as a candidate in the next election regardless of the fact that he had already announced his resignation.

As for Brodkin, he was last spotted by BBC News sports correspondent Richard Conway in the back of a Swiss police van.

Visit CBC Sports for more on the dual American and Swiss criminal investigations into soccer corruption at the international level.