Turkish chef and restaurateur Salt Bae has been slammed for holding and kissing the World Cup trophy as he hijacked Argentina's winning on field celebrations.
Bae, whose real name is Nusret Gökçe, rose to fame five years ago after a video of him pouring salt over a steak went viral.
He has since opened a number of high profile restaurants in which he charges more than $1,000 for his steaks covered in gold flakes.
The chef has gone viral again but this time he is being criticized for his participation in Argentina's celebrations and appearing to grab Lionel Messi on the field as he tried to get his attention for a selfie.
Pictures of Bae holding and kissing the trophy, in convention of FIFA's rules, have brought wide condemnation online, with some describing the moment as "cringing and sickening."
FIFA rules state that only members of the winning team, FIFA officials and world leaders are allowed to touch the solid gold trophy and many have criticized Bae for involving himself in the wild scenes of jubilation after the final whistle.
Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties after the game finished 3-3 after extra time, with Messi scoring twice and Kylian Mbappé netting only the second ever World Cup final hat-trick for France.
Bae has posted a video on Instagram of him with Cristian Romero as he holds and slaps the trophy as well as a photo of him holding the gold World Cup while standing by a goal net.
In another video, the celebrity chef joins Romero and Lisandro Martinez as he does his trademark pouring of salt over the trophy.
There has been an angry reaction on social media to Bae infiltrating the celebrations, with some calling for a boycott of his restaurants.
One person wrote on his Instagram post in which he holds the trophy: "What an embarrassment, I don't understand why people still pay for this guy's overpriced food and support his restaurant."
Another added that it made them feel ill, commenting: "The videos of Salt Bae touching the World Cup and manhandling the players make me feel sick with cringe."
A third questioned why he was there: "Salt Bae posing with the Argentina players and kissing the World Cup trophy is cringe. You can tell they don't want a bar of him. Imagine training your whole life to be in that moment then that muppet comes along."
While a fourth thought it was "unacceptable," writing on Twitter: "Salt Bae holding and kissing the World Cup trophy is absolutely unacceptable."
At the 2014 World Cup, there was a similar controversy when singer Rihanna was involved in the celebrations with Germany's players, with her being allowed to hold the trophy in a post-match party.
Rihanna shared the moment with her fans on social media, tweeting at the time: "I touched the cup, held the cup, kissed the cup, took a selfie wit the cup."
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