Salt Bae and the photos with the Cup in Qatar: Fifa opens an internal investigation

Perhaps Salt Bae’s intent was just to get people talking, a strategy he often uses. And this time it seems to have succeeded. His irruption on the field of the Lusail Stadium in Doha during the Argentine party after the World Cup final did not go unnoticed. The social controversies forced Fifa to open an internal investigation to understand how the famous Turkish restaurateur managed to access the pitch. In fact, Salt Bae has no commercial relations with Fifa and, apparently, he would not even have been invited by the president Gianni Infantino.

According to the federation’s guidelines, “as one of the most important symbols of world sport and a timeless icon, the original FIFA World Cup Trophy can only be touched and held by a certain group of people, which includes previous world champions and heads of state”. On his Instagram profile Salt Bae posted selfies and videos with the trophy in his hands, disturbing the party of Di Maria, Lisandro Martínez, Romero (holding his son) and, above all, Messi. The videos show the Turk chasing the Albiceleste star, yanking him several times, although Leo didn’t seem to want to talk to him in that moment of infinite joy, finally managing to snatch a photo of him with the cup. Now Fifa will try to establish how Salt Bae (but also other crashers…) gained access to the field after the closing ceremony and will take the necessary actions against the staff who would have allowed him to enter the field.

Bandit

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The chef, whose real name is Nusret Gökçe, is an Instagram star (he has almost 50 million followers). Many celebrities and footballers dine in his restaurants (22 steakhouses in major cities around the world) and post photos and videos with him on social media. Following his behavior, he was banned from the 2023 US Open Cup final, a competition similar to the FA Cup and involving MLS clubs.