Kumar Sangakkara accuses Ryanair staff of discrimination and threatening behaviour

Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has accused Ryanair personnel at Dublin Airport of discriminatory and threatening behaviour while travelling with his family. The 48-year-old took to X on Wednesday, October 28, to express his anger over what he described as a shocking and unacceptable experience.

The former wicketkeeper-batter alleged that the airline's gate personnel had treated his family inappropriately during their interaction at the airport. In his post on X, Sangakkara questioned whether other passengers had faced similar experiences with Ryanair staff in Dublin.

"Has anyone experienced discriminatory gate personnel @Ryanair in Dublin?" Sangakkara wrote.

"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."

Sangakkara did not reveal what led to the confrontation or provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the incident. However, his comments indicated that he was particularly upset by the way the airline's personnel had addressed his family.

For now, the former Sri Lanka skipper has not shared further details about the alleged incident at Dublin Airport, and Ryanair has yet to publicly respond to his claims.SANGAKKARA REACTS TO DISCRIMINATION CLAIM

The former Sri Lanka captain's post prompted a response from fellow Sri Lankan Sanjiva Weerawarana, who shared his own experiences of alleged discrimination while living and travelling in Western countries. "Kumar, I have experienced discrimination in every part of the west. I lived there for 16 years, traveled back and forth for another 25 and now I'm done," Weerawarana wrote.

He added that his experiences had left him unwilling to travel to Western countries unless necessary. Sangakkara responded by acknowledging how unsettling such incidents could be.

"It is quite jarring when you experience it @sanjiva," he wrote.SANGAKKARA'S ILLUSTRIOUS CRICKET CAREER

Sangakkara is regarded as one of the greatest batters in Sri Lankan cricket history. He retired from international cricket in 2015 after representing his country in 134 Tests, 404 ODIs and 56 T20Is.

He scored 12,400 runs in Test cricket, including 38 centuries and 52 half-centuries. In ODIs, he amassed 14,234 runs at an average of nearly 42, with 25 centuries and 93 half-centuries. He was also part of Sri Lanka's teams that reached the 2007 and 2011 World Cup finals, finishing runners-up on both occasions.

Sangakkara has continued to work in cricket since retiring, including as head coach of Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. The franchise reached the final during his first tenure but lost to Gujarat Titans, while Rajasthan's 2026 campaign ended in Qualifier 2.- Ends