FIFA Taking Action After ‘Salt Bae’ Infiltrates World Cup Celebration

The celebrity chef drew the ire of soccer fans when he inserted himself into Argentina’s post-match celebration.

As Argentina celebrated its World Cup final victory over France on Sunday, players had to contend for time with the trophy with the celebrity chef known as “Salt Bae”—whose real name is Nusret Gökçe—after he inexplicably joined in on the fun.

Now, FIFA is taking “appropriate internal action” on its security protocol, per ESPN, after Gökçe took many pictures with the trophy alongside perplexed players.

A video of the on-field celebration shows Gökçe trying to get the attention of Lionel Messi, though the Argentina star repeatedly ignored him. Gökçe did eventually post a photo where he got Messi to look in the general direction of a camera.

Even Messi knows salt bae is a hack pic.twitter.com/c457o1GnHt

— Z Bo (@zekedabolina) December 18, 2022

FIFA rules limit those who are allowed to hold the trophy to a “very select” group of people, including tournament winners, FIFA officials and heads of state. A FIFA spokesperson told BBC Sport that the sport’s governing body was looking to establish “how individuals gained undue access to the pitch” after the game.

After a January 2017 viral video in which Gökçe seductively sprinkled salt down his forearm onto a steak, he parlayed his fame into opening a series of restaurants. He isn’t the only person to cause a stir by handling the World Cup trophy when they shouldn’t have. After Germany won the 2014 tournament, Rihanna was criticized for holding the trophy at an after-party. 

At least she waited until the trophy was off the field.