FIFA Qatar World Cup ended a few days back, but fans around the globe are still not over it. The tournament is trending as fans are drawing reactions on various aspects. One such aspect has been the infringement of the rule regarding the World Cup trophy by a Turkish chef, Salt Bae.
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Salt Bae was one of the invitees for the final between Argentina and France. We saw him on the pitch after the award ceremony holding the coveted trophy. It was this incident that drew furious reactions from the fans, although some fans dragged a 9X Grammy winner, Rihanna, into the debate for a similar incident back in 2014.
Fans reacted to Salt Bae’s trophy rule breach
It was a tweet from the host of The Football Terrace that sparked the reactions from the fans over social media. The tweet read, “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?”
Many fans agreed with the tweet saying it is embarrassing and slammed the celebrity chef into breaking the rule.
Totally agree, absolutely embarrassing and making a mockery of the celebrations
— Andy Dallas (@andrewd06341345) December 20, 2022
I agree it's weird. Does he have any link to Argentina or would he have been doing the same if France had won? As far as I'm aware, he's Turkish, with no links to the Argentina players? Just feels like a 'celebrity', gatecrashing the party because he felt entitled to?
— Dave @ United Online (@united_online) December 20, 2022
Absolute disgrace. @FIFAWorldCup @FIFAcom He should be banned from any pitch moving forward. He has as much right as i do to be there.
— David (@PilotDaveLI) December 20, 2022
Some were quick to point out his close relationship with the FIFA President.
Well if you are BFF with Infantino it seems that the rules doesn't apply… pic.twitter.com/GA2O8HCOd7
— Kristian Pälviä (@KPalvia) December 20, 2022
However, some fans somehow dragged Rihanna into the debate. Rihanna did the same back in 2014 when Germany beat Argentina to lift the trophy. Rihanna was supporting the Germans in the finals and crashed into the stadium to celebrate with the players.
Germany had Rihanna hanging out with them all after their 2014 WC win…Argentina got Salt Bae
— Phil Tait (@philtait1on1) December 21, 2022
Rihanna did it better pic.twitter.com/co3bOinMeQ
— Vivir en Australia 🇦🇺 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@en_australia) December 20, 2022
Im curious when rihanna did what salt bae did in 2014, everyone seems okay but when salt bae did everyone mad.
— Keith Steven (@KeithStevenR) December 21, 2022
I’m not a fan of Salt Bae and didn’t even know about him until after Sunday but Rihanna carried and caressed the World Cup trophy in 2014 like a baby and no one said anything about it so what’s changed
— ▫️ (@seuncoker_) December 20, 2022
Fans didn’t stop here, as some were quick to point out how Argentine players were trying to avoid Salt Bae for selfies. Some fans thought he was disrespectful towards the trophy and the players.
…the winning captain around like a lost puppy, and to force players to take selfies and grab the trophy from them, to me, is a sign of disrespect, & entitlement. There are rumours that Salt Bae’s presence was made possible by an the president of Argentinian football, which if..
— Akshay Vara (@ThatGuyAkshay) December 20, 2022
لا أعلم ما الذي يفعله مع الأرجنتين ؟؟؟؟
لقد ضايق جميع اللاعبين ؟؟؟؟ pic.twitter.com/g6ubrf7YiJ— فارس 💙 Faris (@fares15s) December 20, 2022
The whole discussion was about the rules and regulations in place by the apex governing body regarding the trophy. Fans felt FIFA itself is not concerned with those rules.
The rules of FIFA concerning the World Cup trophy
FIFA rules state that selective people can touch the original FIFA trophy. The squad of the country winning it, former soccer legends, and the heads of the states are the ones who can hold the original trophy.
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By the original trophy, FIFA means the ‘FIFA World Cup Trophy’, which is the property of the governing body. The winning team gets the trophy in a ceremony immediately after the final whistle and needs to return it before leaving the stadium. It is the responsibility of the winning team to take care of the trophy until they return it to FIFA.
As the team returns the original trophy, FIFA gives them a replica known as the ‘FIFA World Cup Winner’s Trophy’. It is also the responsibility of the winning team to conserve the Winner’s Trophy, as it belongs to FIFA. The winning member can retain the Winner’s Trophy but has to return it to FIFA if the governing body asks for it.
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Let us know your thoughts on the controversy created by Salt Bae.