Salt Bae shows off a table at his restaurant ‘permanently reserved’ for the late Diego Maradona – with a bizarre picture of him and the Argentine great – on social media amid criticism of his World Cup final antics
- Salt Bae has reposted a bizarre video of his shrine to the late Diego Maradona
- The football legend, who died in 2020, has a permanent tribute in his restaurant
- Salt Bae, real name Nusret Gokce, showed off a table always reserved for Diego
- The video comes days after his latest strange publicity stunt at the World Cup
- Steakhouse magnate Gokce, 39, accosted Lionel Messi after the final in Qatar
Salt Bae has reposted a video of his bizarre shrine to the late Diego Maradona on social media – just days after he was criticised for his World Cup final antics.
The Turkish celebrity chef, 39, was widely criticised for his actions after the tournament showpiece in Qatar, which saw him which saw him go onto the pitch, chase celebrities, accost Lionel Messi and break rules by holding the trophy.
And now Salt Bae, real name Nusret Gokce, showed off a table at his Nusr-Et chain restaurant in Dubai devoted to football legend Maradona, in yet another publicity stunt.
Salt Bae (right) has reposted a video of his bizarre shrine to the late Diego Maradona (left)
The celebrity chef posted footage of his mawkish tribute to the football icon on his Instagram
In a video posted on his Instagram story on Wednesday, Gokce filmed the table, complete with two empty wine glasses, a vase of flowers, an empty plate complete with cutlery and a garish painting of the pair posing together.
He then zoomed in on a brass ‘reserved’ sign and added the caption: ‘Forever reserve’ in a mawkish apparent dedication to the Argentine.
On Thursday, Sportsmail reported that the fame-hungry steakhouse magnate was barred from attending a major cup final in America because of his behaviour at the World Cup final, which Argentina won on penalties against France on Sunday.
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
Video showed Messi (second left), 35, avoiding Salt Bae (grey suit) in an awkward exchange
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.
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.
After the captain looked back, bemused, the Turk tried to pull his shoulder for a second time
The famous steak chef could be seen desperately attempting to join in players’ celebrations
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.
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.
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