Sport

Celebrity chef banned from major soccer tournament after World Cup antics

Reuters|Published

Turkish butcher, chef, food entertainer and restaurateur, Nusret Gokçe, nicknamed Salt Bae, attends the Italian Serie A football match between AC Milan and Napoli at the San Siro Stadium in Milan FILE - Turkish butcher, chef, food entertainer and restaurateur, Nusret Gokçe, nicknamed Salt Bae, attends the Italian Serie A football match between AC Milan and Napoli at the San Siro Stadium in Milan. Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP

New York — Salt Bae has been banned from a major soccer tournament following the Qatar World Cup.

The Turkish chef — whose real name is Nusret Gokce — broke 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 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 barred 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."

Salt Bae gained his nickname after a video of him at one of his restaurants pouring salt down his arm onto a steak when viral in 2017.

His antics at the final didn't seem to go down too well with the players, as Lionel Messi appeared 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.

Reuters

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fifafifa world cupsoccerinternational soccer