Salt Bae, real name Nusret Gökçe, the viral celebrity chef, has been barred from competing in America’s oldest football event.
The US Open Cup tweeted yesterday (December 21): “Salt Bae is hereby barred from the 2023 @opencup Final.”
So don’t count on the restaurateur visiting the Land of Opportunity anytime soon.
It follows the chef’s uproar during the World Cup final.
While Argentina was celebrating their 4-2 victory over France, a Turkish salt sprinkler made its way onto the pitch as players were spotted celebrating with their families.
Salt Bae even approached Lionel Messi, the man of the moment, for a short photo.
While wearing his customary sunglasses, the Turkish butcher touched Messi on the shoulder, who turned around briefly but was having none of it and shook him off.
As the celebrations intensified, the footballer was inundated with photo requests; it would have been the ideal opportunity to go.
Not taking the message, Salt Bae persisted to bother Messi and eventually managed to obtain a selfie with him, which he shared with his 49.8 million followers on Instagram.
The 39-year-old also posed with Angel di Maria, Leandro Paredes, Nicolas Otamendi, Paulo Dybala, Alexis Mac Allister, and other members of the squad.
According to FIFA, only a “select few” can touch the trophy, including previous champions and heads of state.
“This is ridiculous, shame on FIFA for allowing him to touch, kiss, and hold the World Cup,” one football fan said. What is Salt Bae doing sprinkling salt on meat?”
Another person stated: “Everything on this Salt Bae’s Instagram is cringy, but the vids he’s shared from the pitch are really bad. In one of them, he’s trying to take the prize away from Lisandro Martinez.”
A third person added: “Salt Bae reaches for the World Cup trophy. Please make it stop as if anyone can just touch it.”
For the time being, Salt Bae, stick to flavouring pricey slices of steak.
The US Open Cup has been contacted for comment by SPORTbible.
