That was a pinch too much even for FIFA. After the bizarre gold show of the celebrity chef known as Salt Bae after the World Cup final, the world association, which normally does not shy away from pomp, wants to take “appropriate internal measures”.
So not against the steak chef, who after the final whistle on the lawn celebrated with the trophy like a world champion next to Lionel Messi and seized the PR opportunity of a lifetime. Rather, they want to clarify at the headquarters in Zurich how the man known in normal life under the name Nusret Gökce got there in the first place.
However, it took days of shitstorms in the already chronically agitated social media before the world football association felt compelled to react. The trophy is an iconic trophy that “may only be touched by a very select group of people,” said FIFA. Brushing gold leaf over a piece of meat is not a sufficient qualification for that group of people. Rather, you have to have really won the trophy as a player or coach, or at least be the head of state of a country.
Salt Bae among celebrating Argentines
Salt Bae mingled with the celebrating Argentines last Sunday in the apparently difficult to overlook crowd after the victory against France and the award ceremony in the Lusail Stadium. He went on a selfie hunt, virtually salted the cup with gold with a gesture and kissed the good piece at the end. Messi looked irritated in the videos that were circulating and initially rebuffed the golden boy, but ultimately allowed himself to be photographed with the cook for his Instagram channel.
You just know each other. Messi and Frenchman Paul Pogba have both been restaurant guests. And Salt Bae was the man who served one of his very expensive pieces of gold to the then Bayern professional Franck Ribéry in Dubai in 2019. This initially triggered a debate about how flashy footballers should be and then prompted the Frenchman to make a massive mistake in his choice of words. Unfortunately, he captured this moment on film and also spread it. This in turn triggered FC Bayern, who imposed a “very high fine” on Ribéry.
But it didn’t stay with Ribéry. Even Diego Maradona allegedly didn’t miss the gold-plated meal. And with so many stars, one person should not be missing: FIFA President Gianni Infantino. On the occasion of the golden party on the lawn in Qatar, a clip has now become fashionable again, showing the Swiss with the chef at a table. Maybe in January 2019. “The meat here is incredible. Like a goal from Maradona, Ronaldo, Messi – fantastic,” enthused Infantino. At the end there is a warm hug including a kiss on the cheek. Young people these days may refer to this as cringe.
Koch discharged at US Open as a precaution
Perhaps the video will also answer the question of how Salt Bae got his ticket for the World Cup. If not, then there is a second little film that is much more up-to-date. Gökce shared it himself on Instagram a week ago. In it, Infantino himself introduces him to a number of celebrities in Qatar, including the King of Malaysia and some of the sons of the Emir of Qatar.
By the way, others were quicker than FIFA. The organizers of the US Open Cup, the cup competition in the USA, have already invited Salt Bae from the 2023 final as a precaution. However, that should not even matter to the self-promoter from the grill and was not meant to be taken seriously by the Americans either.
