Fans have had their say as it appeared that former UFC fighter and PSG supporter Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘refused’ to shake CBS Sports presenter Kate Scott’s hand following the Champions League final.
Scott – formerly Kate Abdo – was joined by former footballers Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards and internet personality iShowSpeed during a segment of CBS Sports’ coverage of PSG’s 5-0 victory against Inter Milan in Munich, Germany, on Saturday evening (May 31).
The group were chatting about how Khabib is a PSG fan and is close friends with club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
At the end of the segment, the group began to shake hands with one another, but fans noticed that Khabib did not choose to shake the hand of Scott despite her offering and instead put his hand on his heart.
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Fans were quick to have their say on incident on social media but there may be an explanation.
One said: "Great interaction between Khabib and Kate, respect other people’s boundaries and no need to be in your feelings about it. Khabib showed respect in his way while sticking to his principles. Top class."
Another added: "Great appreciation to Khabib for holding firmly to his beliefs, and great appreciation to Kate for understanding that."
A third commented: "It was a bit awkward seeing Khabib skip the handshake with Kate. She handled it like a total pro, though—calm and classy."
While a fourth explained: "All you man complaining in the replies. In his own beliefs, he showed her the UTMOST respect by not shaking her hand. If he did, it would almost essentially be him disrespecting her."
Although it is not 100 percent clear, it is likely that Khabib did not shake Scott's hand due to his Islamic beliefs as the former UFC fighter is a devout Muslim.
According to Muslim College, "Muslim men cannot shake hands with non-mahram women, and Muslim women cannot shake hands with non-mahram men. Their religion is irrelevant.
"The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: ‘Indeed, I do not shake hands with women…’ [Sunan Nasā’i – 4187]".
Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Champions League, CBS Sports, PSG, Inter Milan, UFC
Luke Davies