Argentina players react awkwardly as Salt Bae invades World Cup celebrations after win over France

They say too many cooks spoil the broth, and that was certainly the case when Salt Bae desperately tried to join Argentina’s World Cup celebrations over the weekend.

The South American country was crowned world champion in Qatar on Sunday after making the best of a gripping final against France, which fought back twice to earn a 3-3 draw after normal time and extra time before losing on penalties.

At the fifth time asking, Lionel Messi finally got his hands on the World Cup to further cement his position as one of the greatest players in the game’s history, with the PSG superstar and his international teammates ecstatic after cross the line.

However, while celebrating their triumph on the Lusail pitch, the Argentinian players were joined by the slightly overzealous Salt Bae, whose embarrassing attempts to hold up the trophy have gone viral on TikTok.

In a series of videos posted to his own Instagram, the celebrity steak chef interrupts Angel di Maria, Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez as they pose with the World Cup, leaving the trio looking rather awkward as a result.

tiktok user @stevensaysstuff shared brief snippets of the embarrassing clips, in which he even tries to recreate his signature sprinkling technique over the trophy, which is described in the video as “the little salt thing we’re all tired of.”

Salt Bae, whose real name is Nusret Gokce, could also be seen trying to get Messi’s attention as the Argentina captain prepared for one of the proudest moments of his career by lifting the World Cup trophy.

In footage shared on social media, the Turkish restaurateur is seen putting his hand on Messi’s shoulder and encouraging him to reluctantly shake his hand, despite the player’s obvious concern, before attempting to pull him back again. .

In the Twitter video captioned “Even Messi knows Salt Bae is a gimmick”, furious fans questioned why Salt Bae was allowed onto the pitch.

One fan said: ‘F***ng absurd. Who let Saltbae out on the field? I saw a bunch of pictures of him HOLDING up the World Cup trophy, and even a picture of him biting into a medal.

‘At least Messi knew not to pay attention to that guy trying to make HIS moment over HIM. Desperately holding on to Messi.’

In light of Salt Bae’s awkward antics, FIFA is also facing questions about how the celebrity chef gained access to the pitch at Lusail Stadium and managed to get close to the trophy.

Soccer’s governing body has very strict rules around the World Cup trophy, with a very specific list of those who can touch it on their website.

“Its current design dates from 1974,” reads the FIFA website. “As one of the world’s most recognizable sporting symbols and a priceless icon, the original FIFA World Cup Trophy can only be touched and held by a very select group of people, including former World Cup winners. of FIFA and heads of state. .’

While he is friends with the notorious FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Gokce, the owner of a popular steakhouse chain, does not meet any of the above criteria and therefore appears to be in contravention of this particular set of guidelines.

He was also photographed wearing official FIFA accreditation while on the pitch on Sunday night, although the governing body has not commented on how this happened.

Salt Bae came into the spotlight in 2017 after an iconic video of him sprinkling salt on a steak went viral online.

Since then, the 39-year-old has developed friendships with many high-profile celebrities, including several soccer stars who regularly visit his restaurants.