It hasn’t been the greatest of years for FIFA — and now comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has joined the throng in poking fun at world football’s governing body.
Baron Cohen, who plays a football fan who teams up with his super-spy brother in new film Grimsby (called The Brothers Grimsby in the U.S.), took a pot-shot at FIFA’s tattered credibility as he appeared in character at the premiere in London’s Leicester Square.
Referring to the plot, in which his character Nobby ends up helping rescue the globe from a plot hatched by an evil organization, Baron Cohen told CNN: “This film is about my attempt to stop the biggest criminal organization in the world from taking power — and I’m not talking about FIFA.
“Actually, we asked FIFA to get involved in this film, but they said they didn’t want us to bring them into disrepute — they thought they were doing a good enough job by themselves.”
On February 26, FIFA — which has been embroiled in a corruption scandal that saw its president Sepp Blatter banned from the game for eight years — will hold elections to choose a new figurehead.
In May, seven of its members were arrested and 14 senior executives charged, shortly before Blatter won a fifth term in office.
Extraditions and criminal charges followed as federal prosecutors in the U.S. continued their investigations.
FIFA was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNN.