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Friday, October 30 2026
Friday, October 30 2026
MONETABRIEF – Sri Lanka's former captain Kumar Sangakkara has accused Ryanair of "discriminatory" and "threatening" behaviour towards him and his family, igniting a social media row in which some blamed the wealthy star for flying an ultra-low-cost carrier.
The 49-year-old described the incident at a boarding gate at Dublin Airport on Wednesday, October 28, before a flight to Bristol in the United Kingdom.
"Has anyone experienced discriminatory gate personnel @Ryanair in Dublin? I with my family just did and it was shocking," Sangakkara said on X.
"The tone of address and the mishandling of procedure and threatening behaviour. Unacceptable for any passenger. First bad experience in Dublin."
Within 24 hours the post had been viewed millions of times as users weighed in.
When one X user @IrelandMeda argued that treating everyone exactly the same was not discrimination "even if someone accustomed to special privileges feels slighted by it", Sangakkara replied that the treatment had been racist.
"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 [that] is not treating everyone exactly the same but it is racist," he said.
Replied @IrelandMeda: "It is a budget airline. No one argues."
The Daily Mail reported that the dispute concerned a pre-boarding check of travel documents, including visas for entry to the UK.
Ryanair said in a statement: "This passenger refused to provide the required visa documentation when requested by a gate agent carrying out mandatory immigration checks.
“Following completion of these checks and verification of this passenger's eligibility to travel, this passenger travelled on this scheduled flight from Dublin to Bristol ( Oct 28)."
The Daily Mail newspaper said Sangakkara now lives mainly in Dorset, having moved there with his family in early 2022, and also owns a property in Galle.
Several Sri Lankans questioned why Sangakkara, arguably one of the wealthiest cricketers the country has produced, would choose Europe's cheapest low-cost carriers.
"Why do people with money fly Ryanair?" asked @nayanaGeneva. "I always fly national carriers unless I really don't have a choice." (Colombo/Oct29/2026)
| 3 month bill | 9.26% | 1bp ▲ |
| 12-m bill | 9.95% | 2bp - |
| Gold (Ounce) | $4015 | - ▼ |
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