FIFA has admitted that Salt Bae shouldn’t have been allowed to pitch after the World Cup final.
After Sunday’s win against France, the celebrity restaurateur was seen with the trophy in his hand and begging Argentina players to take photos.
The governing body of football had not spoken out about the matter after the Turkish chef/butcher, who runs a chain restaurant including one in London, was widely criticized on social media for trying to get into the festivities at Lusail Stadium in Qatar.
FIFA has now confirmed that Salt Bae was not authorized to access the pitch. According to FIFA guidelines, only winners of the World Cup and heads-of-state are permitted to touch the trophy at the end.
FIFA’s rules state that the original FIFA World Cup Trophy Trophy cannot be touched or held by anyone other than the former winners and heads of states.
According to Sky Sports News, FIFA is now investigating the circumstances that led to Salt Bae (real name NusretGokce) landing on the pitch.
FIFA spokesperson said that they had completed a review and are now investigating how certain individuals gained access to the pitch following the Lusail Stadium’s closing ceremony on December 18. We will take the appropriate internal actions.”
A video of FIFA president Gianni Intino getting his steak cut by Salt Bae, and then replicating his famous seasoning technique at his Dubai restaurant has surfaced.
Salt Bae was one among Infantino’s 303 Instagram followers on Thursday at 6pm, but had gone unfollowed as of Thursday 7.15pm.
In the aftermath of Argentina’s win on penalties Sunday, there were some awkward scenes as the chef was filmed yelling at players who appeared baffled.
After grabbing the PSG star to photograph, Lionel Messi was repeatedly seen trying to shake off Mr Gokce.
Angel di Maria, Lisandro Martinez and Lisandro Martnez were also confused by the appearance of the chef.
After a viral video showing him flamboyantly seasoning meat, Salt Bae became a worldwide celebrity in 2017.
The London restaurant of his father, Nusr-et, is located in Knightsbridge. It was the center of protest from Animal Rebellion activists. They were upset about him “selling gold-plated steaks more than PS1,000” which they said was “symbolic for a broken system”.