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Moment activists physically removed from Salt Bae's steakhouse after protest
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Lionel Messi’s World Cup victory celebration was interrupted by restauranteur Salt Bae in an awkward exchange captured on video.
On Sunday, the Argentina national football team jumped with joy after beating France 4-2 in a shootout during the final World Cup match.
As Messi, who captains the team, walked through the crowd to accept congratulatory hugs, Salt Bae, whose real name is Nusret Gökçe, seemed to grab at the footballer to get his attention.
Videos of Gökçe, show the restauranteur yanking Messi’s arm multiple times, grabbing the footballer’s shoulder, and pulling Messi toward him, seemingly to take a photo.
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At one point, Messi looked at Gökçe with a tense facial expression before walking away.
The awkward encounter sparked conversation on Twitter, with many condemning Gökçe for interrupting Messi’s moment and praising Messi for ignoring Salt Bae.
The internet-famous chef, known for his line of expensive steakhouses around the world calledNusr-Et, made it onto the pitch after the game.
Not only did Gökçe insist on a photo with Messi but he also posed with the World Cup trophy and took photos with other Argentinan footballers.
Many felt Gökçe's attempt at capitalizing on Messi's accomplishment was in poor taste and praised the footballer for refusing to give him special attention.
Some people pointed out how inappropriate it was of Gökçe to grab at Messi while he was celebrating his win.
One Twitter user wondered how his behavior would be perceived if Messi was a woman.
Gökçe posted a photo on Instagram, posing alongside Messi - indicating he did receive his photo.
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