Salt Bae Broke Silence, Felt 'Embarrassed' in World Cup Pitch Incident

Self-proclaimed 'Salt Bae' has finally broken the silence and spoken on a controversial incident that occurred during Qatar 2022, revealing that he will not be setting foot on another FIFA World Cup field in the future.

He said to The Times: “It was a combination of my love of Argentina and my excitement”.

“I love Argentina; I’ve lived there. I went to support them. Many of [the team] have come to the restaurant. I didn’t feel a stranger. It was a special moment. I can’t do anything about the reason I was there, but I would never, ever step on the World Cup pitch again,” said Salt Bae, whose real name is Nusret Gökçe.

In an interview with a British newspaper, 'Salt Bae' knew that during the World Cup, with two billion viewers, his actions had caught the attention of five billion people, describing his tone as "embarrassed."

In what is widely regarded as one of the most intense final matches in World Cup history, Argentina defeated victory with a 4-2 win over France.

However, Salt Bae faced huge criticism on social media for 'pestering' the man of the hour for a photo, despite Messi showing a lack of interest. The incident sparked widespread criticism directed toward Salt Bae's actions.

Salt Bae, wearing his signature sunglasses, lightly tapped Messi on the shoulder with his salt sprinkler. In response, Messi turned around and was annoyed.

Despite Messi's lack of interest, Salt Bae continued to pursue him, trying to take a photo together. He later shared the image with his fan base on Instagram, with 52.3 million followers.