Kumar Sangakkara has accused Irish airline Ryanair’s staff of “discriminatory and threatening behaviour” towards him and his family at Dublin Airport. The former Sri Lanka captain shared his experience on social media on Wednesday, describing the alleged treatment by the airline’s gate personnel as unacceptable.
Sangakkara is widely regarded as one of Sri Lanka’s greatest cricketers and was known for his calm demeanour throughout his career. The left-handed batter retired from international cricket in 2015 after 594 matches, scoring 12,400 runs in 134 Tests and 14,234 runs in 404 ODIs, alongside 56 T20I appearances.
Kumar Sangakkara Calls Out Ryanair Staff Over Dublin Airport Incident
Taking to X, Kumar Sangakkara questioned whether other passengers had experienced similar treatment from Ryanair’s gate personnel in Dublin. He did not disclose what led to the confrontation but criticised the staff’s tone, handling of procedures and alleged threatening behaviour.
“Has anyone experienced discriminatory gate personnel @Ryanair in Dublin? My family and I just did, and it was shocking. The tone of address, the mishandling of procedures and the threatening behaviour were unacceptable for any passenger,” Kumar Sangakkara wrote.
“First bad experience in Dublin,” the former cricketer added. His post drew widespread attention on social media, but Ryanair had not responded to the allegations at the time of writing.
Ryanair is an Irish ultra-low-cost airline headquartered in Swords, County Dublin. It is Europe’s largest airline by scheduled passenger numbers, fleet size and total flights.
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
— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) October 28, 2026
Sanjiva Weerawarana Backs Kumar Sangakkara After Discrimination Allegation
The post drew a response from fellow Sri Lankan Sanjiva Weerawarana, the CEO of WSO2, who shared his own experience of alleged discrimination while travelling in the West.
“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,” Weerawarana wrote. He added that he no longer wished to travel there unless necessary.
Kumar Sangakkara replied: “It is quite jarring when you experience it @sanjiva.”
@sanjiva @Ryanair It is quite jarring when you experience it @sanjiva
— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) October 28, 2026
The former Sri Lanka captain currently serves as head coach of Rajasthan Royals after being reappointed last year. He also served as director of cricket from 2021 to 2024. Under his leadership, RR reached their first IPL final since 2008 in 2022 but lost to Gujarat Titans. The franchise finished fourth in the 2026 season.
Irfan Pathan Recalls Heated Exchange With Kumar Sangakkara During 2005 Test
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan recently recalled a heated exchange with Kumar Sangakkara during the second Test of the 2005 series in Delhi. The incident reportedly began after Sri Lankan players became unhappy over a change involving a box of cricket balls.
Pathan, who was asked to open the batting, said he was unaware of the disagreement. He recalled facing verbal abuse from Sangakkara after hitting Muttiah Muralitharan for two sixes with the new ball. Speaking on the Cheeky Singles podcast, he described how the exchange escalated.
“There was a Test match in Delhi. I opened and made 93. After the first innings, when we went out to bowl, the box of balls had changed or something like that happened, and the Sri Lankan players were not happy. Sangakkara was the most vocal of all. Then, when I went out to bat, I had zero idea what had happened; I was asked to open. I hit Muralidharan for two sixes. If he is getting hit for sixes with the new ball, it means you have derailed the opposition’s planning a bit. Suddenly, Sangakkara started saying, ‘You guys cheat, your parents teach you all this,’ and blah, blah. He went personal, and I answered back as well. He started it,” Pathan said.
The disagreement was eventually resolved in 2008, when both players joined Kings XI Punjab for the inaugural IPL season. Pathan revealed that they later apologised to each other.
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