Richard Scudamore: Handshake is meaningless without respect

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore says he would rather Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger ignored each other than shared a “meaningless” handshake, as the row between the two managers threatens to dominate the start of the season.

The Chelsea and Arsenal managers twice failed to acknowledge each other after Sunday’s Community Shield, the latest in a long line of disputes between the bitter rivals.

The Premier League reacted by telling managers they would face punishment if they failed to adhere to a new set of guidelines for touchline behaviour and Scudamore admits “it should not be beyond anybody” to shake hands after a match.