“I didn’t feel a stranger” – Salt Bae opens up on his controversial pitch invasion after Lionel Messi and Argentina won World Cup in Qatar
Nusret Gokce, also known as Salt Bae, recently gave his side of the story after his pitch invasion and celebration with Lionel Messi and the rest of the Argentina squad. This occurred back in December after La Albiceleste won the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Nusret Gokce is a famous Turkish butcher, chef, and restaurateur. He became a meme back in 2017 for his trademark, salt-sprinkling move. The 39-year-old took full advantage of this, amassing over 52 million followers on Instagram and being worth £60 million.
Salt Bae became public enemy number one when he invaded the pitch at the Lusail Stadium on December 18. Following Argentina's thrilling penalty shootout win over France in the final, the Turkish butcher joined in the celebrations.
He forced Lionel Messi into taking a selfie, held the World Cup trophy, and posed while biting the winners' medal. Only World Cup winners and senior authorities were allowed to do this so many were unsure he got onto the pitch.
Speaking to The Times, Salt Bae explained his thinking. He said (via The Sun):
"It was a combination of my love of Argentina and my excitement. I love Argentina, I’ve lived there. I went to support them. Many of [the team] have come to the restaurant. I didn’t feel a stranger. It was a special moment. I can’t do anything about the reason I was there, but I would never, ever step on the World Cup pitch again."
Salt Bae stated that there were many more people on the pitch but people chose to focus on him:
"There were two billion people watching the World Cup… how many people are speaking about me? Five billion. The whole world. I didn’t go on the pitch with the purpose of advertising, I just felt like it. Then it was a bit of a surprise."
He concluded:
"There were at least another 1,000 people on the pitch but when they show the video they make out it was just me. I never, ever wanted to overshadow anything. I didn’t like the attention. I didn’t kick anyone, steal anything.”
Many fans online stated that Nusret's invasion was cringe and he shouldn't have been allowed there in the first place.
Recalling when Salt Bae posted old video of Lionel Messi after being trolled for being ignored during pitch invasion
Lionel Messi and Argentina were celebrating their 2022 FIFA World Cup triumph. However, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner was left visibly annoyed when Salt Bae entered the pitch.
The Turkish chef attempted to get a selfie with Lionel Messi, getting rejected each time. This left the Argentine ace annoyed. The clip can be viewed below:
Lionel Messi is trending for ignoring Salt Bae at the World Cup celebration 😂 https://t.co/m9aVT80Bs2
Even though Lionel Messi was forced to take a selfie with him after, their exchange went viral. Fans were quick to troll Salt Bae for his antics and desperation.
In response, the restaurateur uploaded an old video from 2018 of Lionel Messi entering one of his restaurants on Instagram:
This didn't help his case as the famous restaurateur was banned from numerous sporting events in the US for his actions.