Scudamore unfazed by Wenger-Mourinho snub

Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore has no concerns over Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger ignoring each other, if their handshake would be meaningless anyway.

The two rival managers were unwilling to shake hands after Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Chelsea in the Community Shield on Sunday.

But Scudamore will not intervene, despite suggestions the snub was a bad look for the league.

“What would be worse is a meaningless handshake where it meant nothing,” he said.

“The authenticity is far more important. Shake hands if you mean it, shake hands if you want to shake hands. If there is some enmity between you, that is for the individuals to decide, not me. It is rivalry, it is competitiveness, and people understand it goes back a long way.

“It should not be beyond anybody to shake hands and that is why we have a line-up at the beginning and the players do it.

“There is an element of respect about that but you are not going to get me intervening in what goes on between two managers.”

Managers’ touchline conduct is the subject of new guidelines for the upcoming season, although nothing is new in terms of what will be punished.

“It was a clarification,” Scudamore said.

“The managers were told that a graduated system is in place, and it is quite simply a quiet word from the fourth official, a slightly more formal word and, if it gets out of hand, the referee will come over to have a more demonstrable word. If that doesn’t sort it, then the ultimate sanction is removal to the stands.

“It is nothing bigger than that and wasn’t in response to a particular incident. It was about bringing clarity to the technical area that perhaps didn’t exist before.”