The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) has finally decided to investigate how several people, including a celebrity chef from Turkey, were able to “unlawfully enter” the ground where the 2022 Qatar World Cup final was held.
The chef, nicknamed “Salt Bae” rather than his real name, Nusret Gökche (39), has been known since 2017 and took pictures with Argentinian players who were intoxicated with the joy of defeating France in a penalty shoot-out. He infuriated soccer fans by violating the rules, such as kissing the trophy or kissing the World Cup trophy.
Affected by successive trophy theft incidents, FIFA is clarifying the rules so that only “selected” people such as the winning team players, FIFA officials, and heads of state can access the trophy. In a statement to BBC Sport on the 22nd (local time), a FIFA spokesperson said: “After a series of reviews, FIFA has determined how some people were able to unfairly enter the ground after the closing ceremony at Lusail Stadium on the 18th. did. Appropriate internal action will be taken.”
Gokche gained fame by mass-producing numerous Internet memes with a pretentious performance of making salt run down from the forearm during the process of marinating or aging meat, and gained fame, establishing a high-end steakhouse chain in London, Turkey, Istanbul, and Doha, Qatar. are operating Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain), who led Argentina to its first championship in 36 years, active players such as Cristiano Ronaldo (Invincible), as well as retired soccer players such as David Beckham and Ronaldo visited his restaurant. Korean national team players, including Son Heung-min (Tottenham), also visited during this tournament and became a hot topic.
Last month, when the tournament was in full swing, Gökçe drew attention by uploading a video of him hugging FIFA president Gianni Infantino on social media. Even after that, he became a hot topic again with a picture of him sitting in the VIP seat of the stadium and watching the game alongside Brazilian legends such as Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, and Cafu.
Messi, determined to get a picture to hang in the restaurant, grabbed his arm, touched his shoulder, and tried to avoid it by making a sad expression on the harassing body. Either way, he managed to take a forced photo with Messi, stealing the trophy the two players were holding, kissing them, and causing salt to drip from their forearms, causing fans to frown.
According to the British daily The Sun, the U.S., which hosts the World Cup four years after FIFA, began to discipline the government as a preventive measure. The organizing committee for the US Open Cup, which is hosted by American Major League Soccer (MLS) teams, has locked the bar in advance, saying that no military bodies will be allowed to enter the stadium for the final match of next year. It was on the 20th that this disposition was announced on Twitter. It is a case of hitting a player in the United States when FIFA, which should have disciplined the military, did not take any action. It can’t be a side of FIFA that is embarrassing.
Lim Byung-seon Senior Reporter