Kumar Sangakkara has suggested that Ryanair’s staff were ‘racist’ as the cricketing legend’s row with the budget airline intensifies.
The Sri Lankan icon previously accused staff of ‘discriminatory’ and ‘threatening’ behaviour towards him and his family during a recent journey through Dublin Airport.
A statement from Ryanair alleged that Sangakkara had ‘refused to provide the required visa documentation’ during the altercation.
But the 49-year-old has since stood his ground on social media, stressing that he and his family had suffered an experience which was far from the norm.
Accused by one user on X that, due to his celebrity status, he was now unable to recognise being treated equally, Sangakkara hit back, going into more detail about his experience with a more pointed accusation.
‘When told people like you with your kind of passports should expect this treatment and that if we argued against that obviously disgusting comment we would be considered a threat to other passengers and not boarded is not treating everyone exactly the same but it is racist,’ Sangakkara wrote.
Cricketing legend Kumar Sangakkara (pictured with his wife in 2024) has accused Ryanair of racism after an incident at Dublin Airport (Source: Instagram/Kumar Sangakkara)
Posting to X, the Sri Lankan icon alleged that he had not received equal treatment
Daily Mail Sport has contacted Sangakkara and Ryanair for comment.
Initially, Sangakkara alerted his followers to the incident by writing: ‘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.’
Among those concerned with his treatment was Piers Morgan, who shared a message of support for the former wicketkeeper-batter.
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.’
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.
