A fan was removed from Old Trafford on the final day of the Test between England and India after refusing to cover a replica of Pakistan’s limited-overs shirt. This has since prompted an investigation into the matter, followed by an apology from Lancashire County Cricket Club, which manages the venue in question.
The man, who was named Farooq Nazar, was approached by a security staff member who identified himself as an employee of Lancashire and requested that he cover his shirt with his coat. Following Nazar’s refusal to do so, he was escorted out of the stadium, though he managed to record his encounters with the security, which he then posted on social media.
In a statement following their investigation of the incident, the club said Nazar had been “asked to leave the stadium by stewards and police officers due to unacceptable behaviour directed towards the stewarding team.” However, the club also said it will re-examine its way of handling such incidents going forward.
“The club apologises for any upset and offence caused which was not intended and will review its procedures for handling similar situations in the future.”
Lancashire were quick to explain that the decision to eject Nazar from the stadium was influenced by another incident that happened the previous day involving Pakistan and Indian fans.
“Firstly, we wish to make it clear that there was no intention to remove the individual simply for wearing a Pakistan cricket shirt,” the club said in a statement. “The approach taken was informed by an incident on Saturday, during which a group of supporters waved a Pakistan national flag, leading to tensions with nearby Indian fans. In that case, our stewards were able to de-escalate the situation by respectfully asking the individuals to put the flag away, which they did without hesitation.”
On Sunday, the statement by Lancashire said, the security took a precautionary step to avoid any unpleasant incident from unfolding.
“In light of this context, our team adopted a precautionary, safety-first approach on Sunday. A stand supervisor politely asked the individual to cover his shirt in the interest of his own safety and to avoid any potential escalation. Despite several courteous requests from the supervisor and the response team, the individual repeatedly declined to comply.”
Earlier, the ECB CEO Richard Gould confirmed that they had known Nazar for previous years.
“There may well be a context [to what happened] and I know the ground is looking at that, and we’ve also referred it along to the Cricket Regulator to make sure that they’re aware,” Gould said.
The incident occurred at a time when the tensions between India and Pakistan were at an all-time high. A brief military skirmish in May undid whatever little progress cricketing relations involving both teams had seen. There haven’t been any bilateral games between the teams since 2013, and the recent escalation has thrown the prospects of their encounters in multi-national tournaments up in the air, too. Earlier this year, a hybrid model for ICC events was agreed upon by both India and Pakistan, under which the team hosting a global event will provide a neutral venue for the other.
