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FIFA Accused Of Cronyism After Salt Bae Kisses World Cup Trophy And Grabs Lionel Messi

FIFA has been accused of cronyism after Salt Bae, friend of president Gianni Infantino, kissed the World Cup trophy and grabbed Argentina captain Lionel Messi.

Robert Summerscales

FIFA Accused Of Cronyism After Salt Bae Kisses World Cup Trophy And Grabs Lionel Messi
FIFA Accused Of Cronyism After Salt Bae Kisses World Cup Trophy And Grabs Lionel Messi /

Salt Bae broke World Cup convention on Sunday night by repeatedly touching the solid gold trophy.

The celebrity chef, whose real name is Nusret Gokce, was wearing a lanyard with official FIFA accreditation.

This appeared to grant him access to the pitch at Lusail Stadium where he was seen hassling several Argentina players shortly after their victory over France in an epic final.

Salt Bae, who is famous for theatrically sprinkling salt on cuts of meat, twice grabbed the arm of Lionel Messi.

Argentina captain Messi looked bemused and initially ignored the chef before eventually agreeing to feature in a photo with him.

As Argentina's newly-crowned players took it in turns to spend some time with the famous trophy, Salt Bae crudely interrupted on several occasions. 

FIFA's official website states that the 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."

But Salt Bae touched the trophy while it was being held by Angel Di Maria and even kissed it when it was in the possession of Cristian Romero.

Salt Bae tried to remove the trophy from the grasp of Lisandro Martinez but the defender refused to let go. So the imposter just performed his trademark salt dance above the trophy instead.

It is unclear exactly why Salt Bae was allowed to get onto the pitch.

But it is thought to be due to his friendship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Reacting to Salt Bae's attempt to hijack Argentina's special night, former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan joked on talkSPORT: "Maybe he thought he had a stake in the event."

Jordan later added: "Of course it's cronyism. It absolutely is. You look at it and say, 'Why would it happen?' Then you see where Infantino eats when he's over there.

"It's ridiculous. It's a ridiculous look. We've had Messi wearing a traditional Arab cloak, which was strange but I understand why they've done it.

"Now we have these highfalutin chefs who we've got a beef with because they're going on the pitch.

"It defies convention, it breaks protocol. It looks like cronyism, it smells like cronyism, it walks and talks like cronyism, so guess what it is? It's bleeding cronyism.

"It's unprofessional. There's no place for him. He shouldn't have been on the pitch."

Salt Bae pictured (right) holding the World Cup trophy and (left) in conversation with FIFA president Gianni Infantino
Salt Bae pictured (right) holding the World Cup trophy and (left) in conversation with FIFA president Gianni Infantino :: Instagram/nusr_et
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Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.