Salt Bae World Cup Trophy Outrage Is A Matter Of Taste

In the aftermath of Argentina’s dramatic victory on penalties against France in the World Cup Final the unlikely villain was celebrity chef Salt Bae.

Nusret Gokce, who shot to fame on Instagram for his distinctive method for seasoning ridiculously large steaks, was pictured lifting, kissing, slapping and, that’s right, pretending to sparkle salt on the trophy postgame.

These antics, which were of course all over social media, prompted a FIFA investigation into how he and several other individuals “gained undue access to the pitch after the closing ceremony at Lusail stadium on 18 December.”

Unsurprisingly, soccer’s governing body felt the need to act, there was widespread public anger about Salt Bae’s behavior.

“I’d love to hear FIFA’s explanation of why this celebrity chef gets access onto the pitch at a World Cup final for selfies with Messi etc,” British journalist Martyn Ziegler tweeted.

“This is ridiculous, shame on FIFA for allowing him to touch, kiss, and hold the World Cup. Salt Bae drops salt on meat, what is he doing there?” Wrote The Football Terrace presenter Terry Flewers on the platform.

“And I am not jealous,” he added, somewhat pre-empting the inevitable replies “I would refuse to do what he did, anyone with morals would. Unless you are directly associated to this Argentina team, you should NOT be touching [the] trophy or gatecrashing the party.”

The whole debacle is embarrassing for the tournament organizers as its own rules dictate the trophy can only be held by a “very select” group, such as tournament winners, heads of state and FIFA officials.

Faces at the governing body’s headquarters would have grown redder still when historic videos of its president Gianni Infantino being served steak by Salt Bae began doing the rounds on social media.

But FIFA rules aside, those outraged about Salt Bae’s antics cannot claim there is either a moral or security breach.

What the steakhouse owner really offended was people’s taste.

Why was Salt Bae even there?

As a journalist who has reviewed Salt Bae’s chain of restaurants and dug into the man himself, I was not the least bit surprised about his on-field antics.

You don’t have to visit one of his over-the-top outlets to realize the whole Nusret image is about causing a stir.

His food is less about taste and more about theatre. People don’t go visit his Nusr-Et restaurants to have their palate’s tickled they pay for an experience that can be uploaded to social media. I’ve seen it myself, people pick at the food, but have their hands glued to their phones.

Gold steaks are served for no reason other than they look more expensive and every pricey piece of meat is sliced in the manner Salt Bae made famous, finishing with his trademark salt sprinkle.

It might not be to everyone’s taste it’s probably pretty repulsive to a large number of people, but celebrities and soccer players in particular lap it up.

None more so that the Argentina team, a country where devouring steak is part of the culture. Its stars in Qatar have been queuing up to have their photo with Gokce for years.

Perhaps wanting to make that point, the Turkish influencer re-shared footage of Lionel Messi in 2018 pulling his arm to get a picture after the Salt Bae was mocked for being ignored in his efforts to do the same after the final.

It should be added that Gokce is equally enamored with the South American nation himself.

Before Instagram catapulted him to international stardom, Salt Bae studied butchery there.

Diego Maradona was a regular visitor to his Dubai restaurant when he lived there and Gokce closed his favorite table as a mark of respect in the wake of his death.

Ahead of the final the influencer also promised the team a free meal if they won the trophy and keen not to miss out made sure he was at the game.

None of this justifies his clowning around with the trophy, but it explains why he was there in the first place.

The ‘select group’ myth

While Terry Flewers assertion that only those with a direct connection to the team can join the celebrations after winning the trophy, the reality is any concept of the sanctity of this event has disappeared.

These days in major finals around the world, after the players have had their own celebrations families and friends are permitted to flood onto the pitch to join the fun.

Login into your social media in the wake of a major trophy being handed out and you’ll find all these people with their hands all over the silverware.

Not everyone who poses with the cup does so with reverence to its prestige, for many it’s a prop that their famous friend or partner has won.

You could argue that the World Cup is such a powerful honor only those with the closest connection to the players should be allowed onto the pitch, but frankly whoever wins it deserves to be able to do what they want.

If you start regulating celebrations where do you stop?

When Emi Martinez put the Gold Glove trophy to his groin or Messi posed in bed with the trophy, was that offering those titles the respect they deserve? No.

If Argentina players want to let Salt Bae on the pitch and he does exactly what you’d expect him to do, that’s up to them. A sharp word with a security guard could easily have had him removed.

What is particularly strange is how much online anger is directed towards Salt Bae, yet French President Emmanuel Macron could, for the second tournament in a row, completely hijack the moments after the final to bolster his reputation.

Back in 2018, he pranced around the pitch in the rain and practically had to have the trophy wrestled from his grasp by Infantino, having kissed it more than once.

This time he had his arms draped around Kylian Mbappe, like a wise old uncle whose whispering words of consolation to their nephew after a big disappointment.

Beamed around the world, but most significantly to millions back home in France, these images have power that extends way beyond soccer.

Yet nobody appears to be bothered about that.

Letting a president bolster his brand by gallivanting around on the pitch surely has a lot more consequence than an influencer grabbing selfies and clowning around with the trophy.

But maybe Macron’s antics were simply more ‘tasteful.’