Cricket legend Kumar Sangakkara accuses Ryanair of 'discriminatory' and 'threatening' behaviour towards his family during 'unacceptable' Dublin airport incident
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Sri Lankan cricket legend Kumar Sangakkara has accused Ryanair of 'discriminatory' and 'threatening' behaviour towards him and his family at Dublin Airport.
Sangakkara, one of the greatest wicketkeeper-batters of all time, took to social media on Wednesday afternoon to express his fury at an unsavoury incident that had occurred.
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.'
Daily Mail Sport has approached Sangakkara, 49, for further details on what went on, and his post drew a response from other users.
This included Piers Morgan, who shared a message of support for the cricketing icon.
Kumar Sangakkara has accused Ryanair of 'discriminatory' and 'threatening' behaviour towards him and his family at Dublin Airport (pictured with his wife Yhali)
The Sri Lankan cricketing legend took to social media to express his fury at what had gone on
He wrote: '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.'
Sangakkara also interacted with Sri Lankan businessman Sanjiva Weerawarana after he shared his own experiences of discrimination abroad.
He wrote: '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.'
Sangakkara, a former Sri Lanka captain, replied: 'It is quite jarring when you experience it @sanjiva.'
Another fan expressed their sadness and shock that the 49-year-old had faced discrimination, to which Sangakkara responded: 'No one should experience it not just me.'
When contacted for comment by Daily Mail Sport, 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 played 134 Tests, 404 ODIs and 56 T20Is for his country, racking up 28,016 international runs. That puts him third on the all-time list behind Indian greats Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.
The 49-year-old now lives primarily in Dorset after moving there with his family in early 2022, while he is also known to have a property in Galle, Sri Lanka. He met his wife Yhali when they were at school and they had twins together in 2009.
Alongside his work as a pundit for Sky Sports, which has included England's current tri-series with Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Sangakkara is the head coach and director of cricket of IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals.
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