Salty response to cup mishap is nothing new

So, it seems, that, even after the final whistle has been blown, and the Messi v Ronaldo debate has seemingly been put squarely to bed, there is still some controversy left in the World Cup, yet.

While some online have questioned the bestowing of the traditional Arab bisht on Messi, the Qatari equivalent of being knighted, before he got to lift the trophy, that is nothing more than cultural ignorance.

The greater Twitter storm surrounded the internet-famous Turkish butcher and "chef", Nusret Gokce, also known online as "Salt Bae".

In some uncomfortable-to-watch video footage, he can be seen creepily stalking the Argentine players and snatching the cup off them before posing for pictures, or performing his trademark salt-sprinkling gesture over it, while they are trying to celebrate their much-deserved victory.

As the FIFA rules stipulate that the World Cup trophy can only be handled by former winners, current winners and heads of state, naturally people are asking questions as to why this odd character, with no relationship to Argentina, was allowed to get his salt-sprinkling paws on soccer's most coveted prize.

However, this is not the first time that the World Cup trophy has been the center of a media storm, nor is it a new thing for controversy to follow a cup after the final whistle of a competition. Or sometimes even before a ball is kicked.

In 1966, the Jules Rimet Trophy — the original World Cup — was actually stolen prior to England's victory at Wembley.

The Football Association received the trophy in January of that year and, while it was mostly kept under lock and key at Lancaster Gate, it was exhibited at Westminster Central Hall in March. It was insured for 10 times its actual value at £30,000, a staggering amount for the time, and was under uniformed guard, but only 24/6! On Sundays the hall was used for Methodist Church services.

Inevitably, just days after its debut, Jules Rimet was missing.

The Chairman of the Football Association received an anonymous parcel sent to Chelsea Football Club. It contained the removable lining from the top of the trophy and a ransom note that demanded £15,000.The letter stated that if the FA followed instructions, it could get the trophy back, or if the police or the press were told, the thieves would melt the trophy down. Despite the warning, the FA contacted the police who went in pursuit of the thieves. After a blundered ransom drop, they arrested a known petty criminal who claimed to just be acting as a middleman. The trophy was still nowhere to be found. That is, until a dog named Pickles discovered it, wrapped in newspaper, discarded under a hedgerow in Southeast London. Pickles briefly became a celebrity and appeared on TV, and even in a film. David Corbett, Pickles' owner, attended the players' celebration dinner after the World Cup Final, and received rewards totaling£6,000. A replica trophy was then cast for further public celebrations.

The original Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen again in 1983 from the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), where it was kept after being given to Brazil in perpetuity following their third World Cup win in 1970. This time, though, it was never recovered and, instead, a replica is now kept at the CBF.

Not quite as bad the theft of a beloved trophy, there is the damage of one. Poor Sergio Ramos, who, after winning the Copa del Rey with Real Madrid in 2011, nearly had a heart attack after he dropped the cup from the open-top bus during the team's celebratory parade. Captured on live TV, the bus ran over the trophy, but it was retrieved, miraculously unscathed, saving Real Madrid a fortune in repairs and Ramos a lifetime of ignominy as the man that killed the Copa.

Such cup catastrophe is not limited to football, either. Famously, The Calcutta Cup, a trophy awarded annually to the winner of England and Scotland's clash in Rugby's Six Nations, got destroyed in 1988 after drunken celebrations following England's victory in Edinburgh. Players, including England number eight Dean Richards and Scotland flanker John Jeffrey, among others, admitted later to playing football with the cup, one of the oldest sporting trophies in the world, along Princes Street in the Scottish capital. Jeffrey received a six-month ban from the Scottish Rugby Union, whilst Richards was given a one-match ban by England. The trophy was fully restored, but replicas were cast to protect against similar damage to the priceless piece of silverware as a result of future alcohol-fueled shenanigans.

While that could be considered shameful behavior, acts of stolen valor are arguably worse, just in their sheer shamelessness.

In May 2013, after watching his side win the Europa League against Benfica in Munich from the stands (in a suit), John Terry quickly changed into his full Chelsea kit and took to the pitch to join his teammates in their celebrations, even lifting the trophy. This glory-grabbing behavior resulted in Terry receiving widespread mockery in the press and online. Already mired in controversy for his off-field antics with a teammate's wife, some of the jokes were predictably creative, with Irish betting service PaddyPower tweeting "The last time John Terry got changed that quickly was when he heard Wayne Bridge's car pull into the driveway."

I guess the retired Sergio Aguero must have picked up some tips during his time playing in England, because he was also dragged through the wringer online for doing the exact same thing in Doha last week. In the few minutes Salt Bae didn't have a hold of it, Aguero was pictured in full Argentina strip, prancing around the pitch with the World Cup trophy, as if, like the late, great Diego Maradona, he'd actually had a hand in winning it.