Salt Bae banned from major football tournament following World Cup antics

The Turkish chef was pictured sprinkling imaginary salt on the Jules Rimet Trophy in Doha

Salt Bae may find attending future football tournaments a tad tricky after his World Cup final antics resulted in him being widely denounced. The viral Turkish chef broke a golden FIFA rule by making his way onto the pitch following Argentina's victory over France. Usually, such honours are reserved for the players and staff who have worked hard to become champions, and shouldn't be treated as brand-boosting photo opportunity. https://twitter.com/zekedabolina/status/1604555751980007424?s=20&t=4BefW5qK5cyvV-OhsE1vMg The chef, social-media-famous for his pinch of salt gesture, posed alongside Argentina players, bit into a medal, held the World Cup trophy, which is forbidden by FIFA, and even kissed it. The 18-carat gold trophy is estimated to be worth around £17.7 million and FIFA's website states only winners of the World Cup and heads of state are meant to touch it. "The original FIFA World Cup Trophy can only be touched and held by a very select group of people, which includes former winners of the FIFA World Cup and heads of state," FIFA rules state. In the wake of World Cup final, Salt Bae has now been banned from the oldest and most prestigious soccer tournament in America. Yesterday (Wednesday, December 21), the US Open Cup tweeted: "Salt Bae is hereby banned from the 2023 @opencup Final." So don’t expect the restaurateur to make the trip to the Land of Opportunity anytime soon. https://twitter.com/opencup/status/1605335927517286400?s=20&t=WG6486WRyg5v5aVejWzTCw Related links:

• Fans are loving what Lionel Messi did to Salt Bae after World Cup final
• Special meaning behind ‘cloak’ that was put on Messi for World Cup ceremony
• Argentina’s third goal in World Cup final ‘should not have counted’
• Martinez taunts Mbappe in Argentina dressing room after consoling him on pitch