Celebrated Sri Lankan cricketer claims Ryanair staff at Dublin Airport were ‘discriminatory’

Celebrated Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara has accused Ryanair staff in Dublin of “discriminatory” behaviour as he was attempting to board a flight to Britain.

Sangakkara, who is regarded as being among the best cricketers in history, alleged on social media that he and his family faced “discriminatory” Ryanair gate personnel at Dublin Airport on Wednesday.

In a post on X, the 49-year-old, who said he was travelling with family, also accused the airline staff of engaging in “threatening behaviour”, saying the alleged incident was “shocking”.

The post, which has amassed almost four million views, did not detail the alleged “discriminatory” or “threatening” behaviour.

Sangakkara also complained about the alleged “tone of address” by staff, claiming there was a “mishandling of procedure”.

“Unacceptable for any passenger,” he said, adding it was his “first bad experience in Dublin”.

Asked about his comments, Ryanair said Sangakkara had “refused to provide the required visa documentation when requested by a gate agent”.

The airline said the agent was carrying out “mandatory immigration checks”.

After these checks were completed and “verification of this passenger’s eligibility to travel” was complete, Ryanair said Sangakkara travelled on the flight to Bristol.

Sangakkara had a 15-year international cricket career until he retired in 2015. He played for his native Sri Lanka, also serving as captain of the team.

He now works as a cricket commentator for Sky Sports and is head coach of the Rajasthan Royals, a professional cricket team based in Jaipur, India.

Sangakkara was inducted into the International Cricket Council’s “hall of fame” in 2021, which describes him as “one of the finest batters of his generation”.