Former Sri Lanka cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara has detailed the alleged racist treatment he and his family experienced from Ryanair gate staff at Dublin Airport, telling BBC Sinhala that he never refused to produce their visa documents and had only requested time to access them online.
Speaking to BBC Sinhala following his widely shared post on X, Sangakkara rejected the airline’s claim that he had refused to present the required documentation, calling it “a complete lie”.
He alleged that a staff member told his family, “You people with these kinds of passports should expect this,” and threatened to deny them boarding when they objected.
Sangakkara said the incident occurred on 28 October, when he, his wife and their two children were returning to Bristol following a two-day visit to Dublin.
“We went to Dublin for two days. We travelled from Bristol and booked Ryanair because it is a 45-minute flight. That is our nearest airport,” he told BBC Sinhala.
He said they had obtained Irish visas without any difficulty and had enjoyed their visit.
“There were no problems. Dublin is very beautiful, very nice, and the people there are very nice too,” he said.
Sangakkara explained that all four family members held Sri Lankan passports and had UK residency, with their immigration status recorded through eVisas.
“We are residents here [in the United Kingdom], so we have eVisas. Whenever we need to access the eVisa, we either download the page or obtain a share code and show it.
“That has always been the procedure when arriving in the UK on an international flight. We know it well. It has never been a problem. We always show it when checking in.
“Once we give them the share code, they check it online, or they look at the visa page,” he said.
Before travelling to the airport, the family had checked in through the Ryanair app and uploaded all four passports, he said.
“It then asks whether you have an electronic visa. When you select ‘yes’, one of two things happens: either it issues a ‘Restricted Boarding Pass’, in which case you have to go to the visa desk when checking in, or it issues a boarding pass marked ‘All Approved’.”
According to Sangakkara, all four family members received regular boarding passes without any difficulty.
Despite receiving approval through the app, he said they went to the airline’s visa-checking desk at Dublin Airport to ensure that their documents were in order.
“We then went to the airport. Once there, we joined their ‘Visa Check’ queue to double-check, just to be sure.
“Although we had our boarding passes and everything had been approved through the app, we went to the visa desk to double-check. We did not have any bags to check in.
“I told the person there: ‘We have Sri Lankan passports and eVisas. We have checked in online and received our boarding passes, so could you check our eVisas?’”
Sangakkara said staff informed them that, since their passports had been uploaded online and their boarding passes had been issued, there was nothing further to check at that desk. They were told to proceed through security and board the aircraft, he said.
He explained that accessing their UK immigration records involved entering a passport number or Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) number on the UK Government’s official website, followed by a verification code sent to his mobile phone.
The process would then allow them to display their immigration status or obtain a share code for verification.
Depending on the internet connection, this could sometimes take five or six minutes, he said. Verification codes for his two children were also sent to his phone, requiring him to complete the process for each family member.
Sangakkara said the family subsequently went to the boarding gate, scanned their boarding passes and joined the queue to board.
“Once all four boarding passes had been scanned, the lady said: ‘Your visas need to be checked. My colleague will come and check them.’ I said: ‘Right, okay, I will access them now.’”
He said he explained that accessing the records for all four family members would take some time, particularly since staff at the visa desk had earlier told them that no further checks were necessary.
“I told her: ‘It will take a little time to access these for all four of us. When we went to your visa-checking desk, we were told there was no need to check them. So please give us a little time, because what we were told there is different from what you are telling us.’
“We had to access all four — mine first, then my wife’s, and then those of the two children.”
As he prepared to access the documents, Sangakkara alleged, a staff member approached and shouted in front of other passengers: “Do it quickly! If you do not do it quickly, I will stop you from boarding.”
He said he again explained that the family had already asked for their visas to be checked at the designated desk and had been told they could proceed because their passports had been uploaded and their boarding passes issued.
He maintained that he had only requested sufficient time to retrieve the information.
“Then she said: ‘Step aside, step aside. I am closing boarding.’ Then she said: ‘You people with these kinds of passports should expect this.’”
Describing the incident as “completely racist”, Sangakkara insisted that he had never refused to show the documents.
“My wife then told her: ‘That is a very insulting statement.’ I also said: ‘You will have to wait a little because this takes some time.’”
He alleged that the staff member then accused him of arguing and behaving aggressively, warning that she would treat him as a threat to other passengers and deny him boarding.
“I then said: ‘That is up to you.’ My wife very calmly explained to her: ‘The people in Dublin have been so nice and treated us so well, but you are the first rude person we have encountered.’
“She said: ‘You need to know how to speak to people, because shouting in front of everyone and treating people like this is very wrong.’”
Sangakkara said he requested the staff member’s name because he intended to lodge a formal complaint.
According to him, she refused to provide it and warned that further questioning or argument would result in him being considered a threat and denied boarding.
The family eventually downloaded their visa information and presented it to her. After confirming that the documents were in order, she allowed them to board, he said.
Sangakkara said he believed the staff member had by then realised that her conduct had caused the family distress.
He told BBC Sinhala that he held UK residency because he worked there and confirmed that all four family members travelled on Sri Lankan passports.
He has since submitted an online complaint to the Ryanair Group.
Explaining his choice of airline, he said Ryanair and Aer Lingus offered the most convenient services for travelling between Bristol and Ireland.
Responding to an inquiry from BBC Sinhala, the Ryanair Group said the passenger had “refused to present the required visa documentation when requested by a member of gate staff conducting a mandatory immigration check”.
“However, once the check was completed and his eligibility to travel was confirmed, he travelled on his scheduled flight from Dublin to Bristol on 28 October,” the group said.
Sangakkara strongly disputed that account.
“That is a complete lie. A lot of people think I behaved outrageously, saying I would not show my visa. That is a complete lie. If that were the case, I would have to refuse to show my visa everywhere I travel,” he told BBC Sinhala.
The incident first drew widespread attention after Sangakkara posted about it on X at 7.54 p.m. on 28 October. According to the platform, the post had received nearly four million views.
“Has anyone else experienced discrimination from Ryanair gate staff in Dublin? My family and I have just experienced it. Truly shocking.
“The way we were spoken to, treated and threatened. Absolutely unacceptable for any passenger. My first unpleasant experience in Dublin,” he wrote.
His account prompted discussion about the treatment of travellers holding passports from different countries.
Responding to the post, one social media user wrote: “Sadly, things like this have become very common because of the colour of our skin. It is a sad situation, and it has become part of our everyday lives.”
However, a woman whose account identified her as Irish suggested that Sangakkara had mistaken equal treatment for discrimination.
“Treating everyone equally is not discrimination. That does not change because someone accustomed to special privileges feels wronged by such treatment. Disregarding someone’s status or standing is simply being impartial.
“A wise person once said that when people are accustomed to privilege, even equal treatment feels like discrimination. Ryanair does not promise luxury,” she wrote.
Responding, Sangakkara said: “Being told, ‘People like you with passports like yours should expect this,’ and being told that if we objected to that clearly repugnant statement, we would be considered a threat to other passengers and denied boarding, is not treating everyone equally. It is racist behaviour.”
Sangakkara retired from international cricket in 2015 after a 15-year career. He currently works as a cricket commentator for Sky Sports and serves as head coach of Rajasthan Royals, the professional cricket team based in Jaipur, India.
He was inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame in 2021, when he was described as “one of the finest batsmen of his generation”.
Ryanair is a major European low-cost airline group headquartered in Ireland. Founded in 1985, it is known for offering short-haul flights at low fares.
The airline, which describes itself on its official website as “Europe’s largest airline group”, had 647 aircraft as at 2 October 2026.
According to its website, the group carries approximately 214 million passengers annually, operates around 3,800 flights daily and serves more than 220 airports across 35 countries with a fleet of nearly 650 aircraft.
