Salt Bae has vowed never to invade the football pitch again after joining Argentina's World Cup celebrations following the final in Qatar.
Nusret Gökçe, the celebrity chef's real name, received widespread condemnation after being seen on the playing surface at Lusail Stadium. Gökçe was shown awkwardly interacting with players, including Lionel Messi, as they celebrated becoming world champions after a thrilling penalty shoot-out win over France.
Gökçe also kissed and held the trophy, the latter an honour usually reserved for heads of state, FIFA officials and the winners themselves. Following the backlash, the world governing body launched an investigation into the incident.
Other individuals also had their involvement investigated after gaining what the organisation dubbed "undue access" following the closing ceremony. None of the "appropriate internal action" they said would be taken has been publicly disclosed.
But now Salt Bae has spoken about the antics and explained his reasons behind them. “It was a combination of my love of Argentina and my excitement,” he told The Times through an interpreter.
“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. There were two billion people watching the World Cup … How many people are speaking about me? Five billion. The whole world.”
“I didn’t go on the pitch with the purpose of advertising; I just felt like it. Then it was a bit of a surprise. There were at least another 1,000 people on the pitch but when they show the video they make out it was just me.”
Gökçe added: “I never, ever wanted to overshadow anything. I didn’t like the attention. I didn’t kick anyone, steal anything.” The celebrity chef did receive plenty of attention, with BBC TV presenter Gary Lineker labelling him a "pest" after seeing the antics.
But the experience has not stopped the celebrity chef from attending other major football finals. He was also at the Champions League final in his native Turkey earlier this month, managing to restrain himself as Manchester City celebrated winning the treble.
Gökçe opened his first restaurant in Istanbul in 2010 before expanding into Dubai four years later. In January 2017, the restauranteur became a meme for how he prepared and seasoned meat in a series of viral videos.
Since then, his Nusr-Et chain of luxury steak houses has expanded into Greece, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United States and the United Kingdom. Gökçe now has eight restaurants in the US alone and 31 across the globe.
Several celebrities, including the international footballers he alludes to in the interview, regularly dine at Nusr-Et and sample the exorbitantly expensive steaks they sell. Their 24-carat gold-wrapped highly marbled wagyu tomahawk costs over £1,000 for a single steak.
