FIFA responds to Salt Bae gatecrashing Lionel Messi and Argentina's World Cup celebrations
Football's governing body FIFA have issued a response to the now-viral images of celebrity chef Salt Bae gaining 'undue' access to the players and the World Cup trophy following Argentina's defeat of France in the World Cup final.
FIFA rules state that only a select group of people that includes winners, former winners and heads of state are allowed to touch the Jules Rimet trophy, something that Salt Bae (real name Nusret Gokce) seems to have broken as a number of individuals entered the pitch as the final ended. The governing body of football stated that they have opened an investigation into the same.
"Following a review, FIFA has been establishing how individuals gained undue access to the pitch after the closing ceremony at Lusail stadium on 18 December. The appropriate internal action will be taken," FIFA said in a statement.
Gokce was not the only person to enter the pitch during the celebrations and he was not named directly in FIFA's statement. It is unclear whether he received special permission from Argentina's players or staff to join them.
Lionel Messi was seen walking away from the chef after Gokce posed for photos with a host of players including Angel Di Maria, Cristian Romero, Paulo Dybala and Lisandro Martinez. He was also seen carrying the trophy and biting into one of the winners' medals. After pictures and videos of this were posted on the chef's social media account, he faced criticism for using the occasion to create content for himself.
Following the incident, Gokce was banned from the 2023 US Open Cup as he awaits further punishment from FIFA.
Salt Bae is hereby banned from the 2023 @opencup Final
Salt Bae receives criticism from fans for posting old video with Lionel Messi
Following his intrusion at the World Cup final, chef Salt Bae (real name Nusret Gokce) has come under criticism once again.
The chef is expected to face action for entering the pitch and touching the World Cup trophy without permission. He took a selfie with Lionel Messi, where the 35-year-old superstar appeared noticeably irritated and denied Salt Bae's request for a photo twice before obliging.
In response to this backlash, he took to social media to post a video of Messi and French footballer Paul Pogba visiting his restaurant. However, followers were quick to point out that it was a 2018 video.
One commentor noted:
"You can share as many pictures and videos with Messi as you want, that doesn't change the fact that your behavior after the match was totally wrong. In life you should also see when it's getting too much, and you don't make it any better with the daily posts. Pls stop and don't destroy yourself!"