UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov again became the subject of controversy after he refused to shake a female TV presenter’s hand on live TV.
Nurmagomedov was seen refusing the shake hands with CBS Sports presenter Kate Abdo, despite having shaken hands with her male coworkers following the end of the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Inter Milan game in Munich on Saturday.
Nurmagomedov likely refused to shake Abdo’s hand due to his religious beliefs, with him having repeatedly emphasising that he is a devout Muslim. According to Islamic tradition, men are prohibited from shaking hands with women who are not their mahrams (‘close relatives’), and vice versa.
Marina Akhmedova, a member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights in Russia, criticised Nurmagomedov’s action as ‘a display of Islamism, when a person selectively chooses which religious norms to observe and which to ignore’.
Akhmedova said, ‘In Islam, men are forbidden from exposing the body from the navel to the knees, yet Nurmagomedov is willing to set aside that rule for the sake of sport, while he considers it more important to demean someone else’.
The UEFA Champions League final at the Allianz Arena in Munich ended with a 5–0 victory for PSG. It was the first time PSG had won Europe’s premier club competition.
Shortly afterwards, Nurmagomedov posted photographs on his social media accounts with PSG’s Russian goalkeeper Matvey Safonov, defender Achraf Hakimi, and the French side’s head coach, Luis Enrique.
Nurmagomedov was born on 20 September 1988 in the small village of Sildi in the Republic of Daghestan. His sporting career began with sambo and wrestling, but in 2008 the young athlete decided to try his hand at mixed martial arts (MMA). In July 2018, he captured the UFC lightweight title and then successfully defended it on multiple occasions until his early retirement from the sport in October 2020. Over the course of his professional career, Nurmagomedov fought 29 times and won all 29 bouts — eight by way of knockout — establishing himself as one of the most acclaimed fighters in MMA history.
Nurmagomedov has long spoken about his passion for football. He is friends with Cristiano Ronaldo and openly supports Real Madrid and Liverpool. In 2019, Khabib founded an amateur club called The Eagles in his native Daghestan, which competes in the local league. He launched this project to engage young people in sport and provide an alternative platform where teenagers could train and develop their skills.
On social media, Nurmagomedov does not hide his football allegiances: he regularly posts photos and videos from matches, attends games of the top European clubs, and often comments on what is happening on the pitch. Among his friends are well-known footballers and coaches.
Elizaveta Chukharova
