Credit: CBS Sports Golazo / Paramount+
CBS presenter Kate Scott apologised live on air after UFC Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov refused to shake her hand during their Champions League final coverage.
As the team of Scott, known as Kate Abdo before marriage, Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards and Theirry Henry were providing post-match punditry on Paris Saint-Germain’s 5-0 victory in Munich they were joined by the former fighter and streamer IShowSpeed live on air.
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Nurmagomedov, who famously beat Conor McGregor in 2018, shook the hand of every member of the panel before awkwardly rejecting the outstretched hand of Scott.
The 36-year-old clarified his position to Scott who then apologised for her attempt on air, by saying: “I apologise, thank you so much. Khabib, UFC fighter, it’s a pleasure to have you. We didn’t know you were here!”
Scott then moved the conversation to asking Nurmagomedov about his love for Paris Saint-Germain before he admitted he was also a Real Madrid man as he joked with Henry about “breaking his heart” in 2006 after he scored the winner at the Bernabeu in the knockout stages.
Nurmagomedov watched PSG win the Champions League alongside Islam Makhachev (right) – Getty Images/Michel Regan
It is believed that Nurmagomedov’s decision to refuse Scott’s hand is because he is a devout Sunni Muslim from the Russian Republic of Dagestan.
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In Islam, it is forbidden for a man to touch any part of a woman whether she is Muslim or non-Muslim unless they are related or married.
Scott has been praised for navigating a potential awkward situation with excellent professionalism but it is not the first time the unbeaten former UFC fighter has refused to train with females in the gym because of their beliefs.
Speaking about her experience, fellow UFC fighter Cynthia Calvillo said she found their decision “weird”.
She told theScore: “It’s a little bit weird because of their religion … they won’t train with women.
“[Nurmagomedov] is still showing technique and stuff like that. So I still get to watch it. But it doesn’t bother me because they’re not really being directly rude to me.”
