Salt Bae banned from major soccer tournament after World Cup antics
The Turkish chef – whose real name is Nusret Gokce – broken a key FIFA rule after making his way onto the pitch after Argentina’s win over France in the final, and he even held and kissed the iconic trophy as he posed with the players.
According to FIFA rules, the 18-carat gold trophy – nicknamed the Jules Rimet – can only be touched by winners of the tournament and heads of state.
The rules state: “The original FIFA World Cup Trophy can only be touched and held by a very select group of people, which includes former winners of the FIFA World Cup and heads of state.”
Now, he has been barred from attending the US Open Cup final, which is the longest running soccer tournament in the United States.
The cup’s official Twitter account tweeted this week: “Salt Bae is hereby banned from the 2023 @opencup Final.”
Salt Bae gained his nickname after a video of him at one of his restaurants pouring salt down his arm onto a steak when viral in 2017.
His antics at the final didn’t seem to go done too well with the players, as Lionel Messi appears to be trying to get away from him after he grabbed his arm.
And his teammate Lisandro Martinez didn’t look impressed as he posed for a picture with him and the World Cup trophy.
Meanwhile, Argentina had to abandon plans for a victory bus tour of Buneos Aires over security concerns after a fan jumped onto the vehicle as it passed under a bridge.
The Argentinian FA said in a statement: “The players of the Argentine soccer team ended the festivities by flying over in a helicopter over the crowd of fans who gathered in the city.
“They made that decision after verifying that they could not continue advancing by bus in the middle of the crowd.”
