Salt Bae is BANNED from a major cup final in the United States after World Cup antics that saw the celeb-chasing chef blanked by Lionel Messi and break rules by holding the trophy
Salt Bae has been barred from attending a major cup final in America because of his behaviour at the World Cup final.
The US Open Cup, the equivalent of England’s FA Cup, tweeted on Tuesday banning the celebrity chef from coming to the showpiece event of their competition.
Steakhouse magnate Salt Bae, real name Nusret Gokce, was widely criticised for his antics after the Qatar World Cup final, which saw him go onto the pitch, chase celebrities, accost Lionel Messi and break rules by holding the trophy.
Salt Bae has been banned from attending a major cup final in the US after his World Cup antics
After the final in Qatar which saw Lionel Messi’s Argentina beat France, the celebrity chef – real name Nusret Gokce – chased celebrities and was blanked by Messi as he tried to accost him
The US Open Cup’s Twitter posted on Tuesday banning Salt Bae from their 2023 competition
Two days later, the tweet has been liked more than 130,000 times. Moreover, video after the final showed a cringeworthy exchange as Messi did his best to avoid Salt Bae in the aftermath of his countty’s World Cup win.
The Paris Saint-Germain star led the South American side to global glory on Sunday night, scoring twice to help his side beat France 4-2 on penalties at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar.
Social media footage saw the Turkish chef desperately trying to get close to Messi, putting his hand on Messi’s shoulder and encouraging him to reluctantly shake his hand, despite his obvious concern, before trying to pull him back again.
Video showed Messi (second left), 35, avoiding Salt Bae (grey suit) in an awkward exchange
After the captain looked back, bemused, the Turk tried to pull his shoulder for a second time
Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan accused FIFA of cronyism following the antics of Salt Bae, who joined in with Argentina’s celebrations on the pitch.
He was pictured with the World Cup trophy and took for photos with several of Argentina’s stars at the Lusail Stadium.
In a series of videos posted on his own Instagram, the steakhouse magnate interrupted the likes of Angel di Maria, Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez as they posed with the World Cup, leaving the trio looking rather awkward.
The famous steak chef could be seen desperately attempting to join in players’ celebrations
The 39-year-old also did not meet the criteria required to enter the pitch and hold the trophy
The restaurant magnate was spotted on the pitch with celebrating Argentina players
Gokce is known to be a close friend of FIFA president Gianni Infantino and actually breached the world governing body’s strict regulations regarding who is allowed to touch the World Cup trophy.
‘Its current design dates back to 1974,’ FIFA’s website reads. ‘As one of the most recognised sports symbols in the world and a priceless icon, 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.’
Jordan said on talkSPORT: ‘It’s ridiculous. It’s a ridiculous look… It defies convention, it breaks protocol. It looks like cronyism, it smells like cronyism, it walks and talks like cronyism, so guess what it is? It’s bleeding cronyism. It’s unprofessional. There’s no place for him. He shouldn’t have been on the pitch.’
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