Salt Bae may have inserted himself into Argentina's World Cup celebrations in Qatar last week, but he won't be allowed to repeat that clout-chasing performance at a big soccer event in the U.S. in 2023.
The U.S. Open Cup declared this week that Salt Bae, a.k.a. Nusret Gokce, is "hereby banned" from the 2023 final, which is slated for September of next year.
The U.S. Open Cup is the longest-running soccer tournament in North America, and it's been dominated by Major League Soccer teams over the last few decades.
\u201cSalt Bae is hereby banned from the 2023 @opencup Final\u201d— U.S. Open Cup (@U.S. Open Cup) 1671576885
It's obviously not as big as a stage as the 2022 World Cup final, but tournament organizers clearly don't want to see a repeat of what happened in Qatar.
Argentina defeated France in penalty kicks to win the World Cup tournament in Qatar on Sunday, and no one seemed to hold the golden trophy more than Salt Bae, who had a special pass that gave him access to the pitch afterward.
Photos and videos posted online show the Turkish chef glomming onto Argentina's football stars, and even occasionally taking the trophy from their hands to hold for himself.
Salt Bae posted several of the videos on Instagram via his restaurant chain, Nusr-Et.
Many responded in the comments by ripping him for touching a trophy that he didn't win, while others declared it a "cringey" display.
Other videos from the scene show Gokce trying to chase down Argentina star Lionel Messi, whom he also took photos with.
One video in particular shows Salt Bae grabbing at Messi's arm to pull him aside.
\u201cMessi not having any of \u2018Salt Bae\u201d makes me love him even more. \u201d— adi_dasslerWSAG (@adi_dasslerWSAG) 1671443532
Despite Salt Bae's handsy performance on the pitch, he was still bragging about his Messi connection on Wednesday. That's when he posted a video of himself with Messi at one of his restaurants, which was apparently shot in 2018.
"Posting an old video to cover your insecurities," wrote one of the many critical commenters on the post.
FIFA has not commented on Salt Bae's antics, nor has it banned him.
It's unclear exactly where the U.S. Open Cup final will be played next year, but Salt Bae does have several restaurants in the United States.
In other words, he may still find a way to get a piece of the tournament-winning athletes, even if it leaves everyone else feeling salty about it!
Salt Bae's Cringey World Cup Pics Just Got Him Banned & He's Not Allowed At A Big US Event
Source: News Article Viral
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