Former Sri Lanka cricketer Kumar Sangakkara has accused Ryanair of 'discriminatory and threatening' behaviour towards his family at Dublin Airport, condemning the incident on social media.
The former wicketkeeper-batter, regarded as one of the best to ever play the role, expressed his anger in a post on X on Wednesday.
Sangakkara's account of the incident
Posting on X, Sangakkara said: "Has anyone experienced discriminatory gate personnel @Ryanair in Dublin?
"I with my family just did and it was shocking. The tone of address and the mishandling of procedure and threatening behavior. Unacceptable for any passenger. First bad experience in Dublin."
TV presenter Piers Morgan was among those to send messages of support for the former cricketer and said: "Rarely met a more decent, dignified man than Kumar.
"For him to say this, it must have been truly shameful behaviour. I hope you deal with this urgently & properly @Ryanair."
Support and Ryanair's response
Sri Lankan businessman Sanjiva Weerawarana also interacted with the 49-year-old cricketer, sharing his own experiences of discrimination.
He said: "Kumar, I have experienced discrimination in every part of the west. I lived there for 16 years, travelled back and forth for another 25 and now I'm done."
The former Sri Lanka captain replied: "It is quite jarring when you experience it @sanjiva."
In a statement, Ryanair said: "This passenger refused to provide the required visa documentation when requested by a gate agent carrying out mandatory immigration checks.
"Following completion of these checks and verification of this passenger's eligibility to travel, this passenger travelled on this scheduled flight from Dublin to Bristol (28 Oct)."
Sangakkara's career and current role
Sangakkara played in 134 Tests, 404 ODIs and 56 T20Is for Sri Lanka during his playing career, scoring 28,016 international runs. He is third on the all-time international run scorers list behind Indian greats Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.
He now lives in Dorset with his family after moving there in 2022, and works as a pundit for Sky Sports, while also serving as head coach and director of cricket of IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals.
