The Turkish chef Salt Bae has come under fire from fans all around the world for sneaking into a photo shoot with Lionel Messi while he was playing for Argentina in the World Cup.
In 2017, videos featuring Nusret Gokce’s trademark salting method made a stir on the internet, propelling him to the status of an Internet celebrity. His stage name is Salt Bae.
Since that time, he has welcomed a large number of famous people to his restaurants, including the likes of David Beckham, P. Diddy, and Naomi Campbell, amongst others. It is significant because the owner of the Turkish deli has had previous interactions with the Argentine footballer Lionel Messi.
But many people are of the opinion that Salt Bae’s latest antics with the World Cup winner have crossed the line of appropriate behaviour.
Fans criticized Salt Bae for his behavior with Lionel Messi at the World Cup
Messi guided Argentina to the World Cup victory versus France on the most recent Sunday. However, just after the triumph, home viewers were made aware of an embarrassing occasion, which was the invasion of Salt Bae.
It was observed that the world-famous chef was chasing Messi in order to take a picture of him, and when his attempts to slow down the athlete were disregarded, the chef seized Messi.
In the end, Salt Bae was successful in getting a picture with Messi, but the manner in which he accomplished this feat left very few people impressed.
Bobby Reagan of Barstool Sports made a joke that a professional football player who has avoided Salt Bae for such a prolonged period of time deserved another trophy:
Others have referred to it as harassment, and others have pointed out that FIFA should not have even permitted the restaurant owner to enter the pitch. The fact that Salt Bae banned other world champions from posing for photos with the golden trophy was also interpreted as a sign of “shrivelling up.”
It is safe to say that Salt Bae, who was responsible for preventing Messi and other players from celebrating their victory in the World Cup, will not be favourably remembered.