The celebrity chef and restaurant mogul sparked outrage with his antics in Qatar on Sunday. The US Open Cup has banned the viral chef Salt Bae from the final of the 2023 competition following the 2022 World Cup.
The Turkish chef whose real name is Nusret Gokce has broken a key FIFA rule after making his way onto the pitch after Argentina’s win over France in the final, and he even held and kissed the iconic trophy as he posed with the players. According to FIFA rules, the 18-carat gold trophy nicknamed the Jules Rimet can only be touched by winners of the tournament and heads of state.
The rules state: “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.” Now, he has been banned from attending the US Open Cup final, which is the longest running soccer tournament in the United States.
The cup’s official Twitter account tweeted this week: “Salt Bae is hereby banned from the 2023 @opencup Final.”
His antics at the final didn’t seem to go done too well with the players, as Lionel Messi appears to be trying to get away from him after he grabbed his arm. And his teammate Lisandro Martinez didn’t look impressed as he posed for a picture with him and the World Cup trophy.
The Argentinian FA said in a statement: “The players of the Argentine soccer team ended the festivities by flying over in a helicopter over the crowd of fans who gathered in the city. They made that decision after verifying that they could not continue advancing by bus in the middle of the crowd.
