Uproar as Qatari Sheikh refuses to shake female referees during FIFA Club World Cup awards ceremony

- Qatar’s Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani presented special awards to outstanding stars at the FIFA Club World Cup

- He however failed to acknowledge fist bump from the female match officials

- The Sheikh apparently snubbed their fists as the women were instructed to walk past the royal

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Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani failed to acknowledge fist bump from female officials during the FIFA Club World Cup awards ceremony, Daily Mail reports.

Following Bayern Munich’s 1-0 triumph over Tigres UANL in the final of the tournament on Thursday, February 11, awards ceremony was held to recognise the outstanding stars.

It was gathered that when female referees Edina Alves Batista and Nueza Back approached the Sheikh, he apparently snubbed their fists as the women were instructed to walk past the royal.

There are insinuations in some quarters that Islam does not allow any form of physical contact with a person who is of the opposite sex aside that they are family members.

Sheikh Joaan - who handed out the awards alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Thursday - is the younger brother of Qatar's ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and is the president of Qatar's Olympic Committee.

The FIFA World Cup 2022 is set to be held in the controversial Gulf state - making it the first Muslim and Arab country to host the event.

Meanwhile, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has issued a challenge to his former club Bayern Munich after the German side won the Club World Cup for the sixth time.

Hansi Flick’s men are now the second team in history to achieve such feat as they complete a clean sweep of available silverware after Barcelona did the same in 2009.

Guardiola was in charge at Barcelona when he led Lionel Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and a host of other superstars when the Spanish club set the record.

However, Legit.ng earlier reported that Chelsea have reportedly reached an agreement to sign Jerome Boateng on a free transfer at the end of this season.

The two-time Champions League winner will be out of contract with German League champions Bayern Munich this summer.

With less than six months to the expiration of his deal with the Bundesliga outfit, he is free to negotiate a move with other clubs on pre-contract terms.

Though the Blues already have veterans like Thiago Silva, the arrival of Thomas Tuchel might cause a slight change in the squad set up.

Babajide is a digital publishing expert, an avid sports content thinker, researcher and writer. He is a graduate of Guidance and Counselling, having bagged his B.SC (ED) from the Ekiti State University. He can be reached on Twitter @JideOrevba