Kumar Sangakkara accuses Ryanair staff of discrimination and threatening behaviour
Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has accused Ryanair staff at Dublin Airport of discriminatory and threatening behavior while traveling with his family. The 48-year-old took to X on Wednesday, October 28 to express his anger at what he described as a shocking and unacceptable experience.
The former wicketkeeper-batsman alleged that the airline’s gate staff mistreated his family during their interaction at the airport. In his post on X, Sangakkara asked if other passengers had faced similar experiences with Ryanair staff in Dublin.
“Has anyone experienced discrimination by @Ryanair gate staff in Dublin?” Sangakkara wrote.
“My family and I have just done this and it was shocking. The tone of addressing and mistreatment and threatening behaviour. Unacceptable for any passenger. First bad experience in Dublin.”
Sangakkara did not reveal what led to the confrontation or give further details about the circumstances surrounding the incident. However, his comments indicated that he was particularly upset by the way airline staff addressed his family.
The former Sri Lankan captain has not yet released any further details about the alleged incident at Dublin Airport and Ryanair has yet to publicly respond to his claims.
SANGAKKARA RESPONDS TO DISCRIMINATION
The former Sri Lanka captain’s post drew a response from fellow Sri Lankan Sanjiv Weerawarana, who shared his own experiences of alleged discrimination while living and traveling 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 the next 25 and now I am done,” Weerawarana wrote.
He added that his experience made him unwilling to travel to Western countries unless necessary. Sangakkara responded by acknowledging how disturbing such incidents can be.
“It’s pretty annoying when you experience it @sanjiva,” he wrote.
GREAT CRICKET CAREER OF SANGAKKARA
Sangakkara is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of Sri Lankan cricket. He retired from international cricket in 2015 after representing his country in 134 Tests, 404 ODIs and 56 T20Is.
He has 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 the Sri Lankan teams that reached the World Cup finals in 2007 and 2011, finishing as runners-up both times.
Sangakkara has continued to work in cricket since he retired, including as head coach of Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. The franchise reached the finals during his first tenure but lost to Gujarat Titans, while Rajasthan’s 2026 campaign ended in Qualifier 2.
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