On December 18, Argentina was crowned world champion in Qatar. The victory on penalties for Scaloni’s men put the third star on the albiceleste shirt and the celebrations quickly took place on the pitch of the Lusail stadium, although among the footballers, the technical team and the loved ones of the champions there was an unexpected guest who quickly became a protagonist on social networks: the popular chef Salt Bae. The Turk starred in controversial moments when he made his famous gesture with all the players and even dared to take the trophy from the hands of some of them, for which the criticism against him was fierce, especially in Argentina.
Now, more than six months later, the cook breaks his silence in The Times to reveal how he lived those moments and what he felt when he saw the commotion he had generated. “It was a combination of my love for Argentina and my excitement. I love Argentina. I have lived there. I went to support them. Many (players of the national team) have come to the restaurant. I didn’t feel like a stranger. It was a special moment. I can’t do anything about why she was there, but I would never set foot on the World Cup pitch again. There were two billion people watching the World Cup… How many people are talking about me? Five billion. The whole world, ”she confesses.
Salt Bae starred in viral videos for his way of forcibly taking the trophy from footballers like Cristian Romero or Lautaro Martínez. These, seeing his insistence, ended up giving in, but he believes that he did not steal anything: “I did not enter the field for publicity purposes. I just wanted it. So it was a bit of a surprise. There were at least a thousand other people in the field, but when they show the video, they realize it was just me. I never wanted to overshadow anything. I didn’t like the attention. I didn’t kick anyone or steal anything”.
Punished in the United States
The chef was also recently in the Champions League final months after FIFA announced an investigation into what happened on the Lusail pitch. From the highest body of world football they detected many people on the field who should not be there, although no sanction was reported, neither against Salt Bae despite the fact that there was speculation about a ban for the 2026 World Cup.
Notably He did have a VIP invitation from FIFA but was not allowed access to the pitch to celebrate as if it were part of the Argentine delegation.
Where he would have been punished is in the United States, because at the end of last December it came to light that the cook would not be allowed access to the matches of the US Open Cup 2023 played by teams from the MLS and other minor leagues in the country.
