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Lancashire cricket club apologized for removing Farooq Nazar during the India-England Test at Old Trafford. Nazar was asked to cover his Pakistan jersey to prevent tensions.
Pakistan fan who was asked to leave at Old Trafford. (PC: X)
The Lancashire cricket club, which owns and runs the Old Trafford Cricket Ground, has apologized for “any upset and offence caused” over the removal of a fan during the final day of the India-England Test in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The fan, Farooq Nazar, had shared a video on social media depicting how he was asked to leave by security officials for refusing to cover his t-shirt — a replica of an old Pakistan ODI jersey.
Lancashire, though, put some of the blame on Nazar. The club said in its statement that Nazar was initially asked to cover his t-shirt and was only escorted by the police “due to unacceptable behaviour directed towards the stewarding team”. It also said that asking Nazar to leave was less about the Pakistan shirt but more about preventing enmity and any kind of violence on the ground.
“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.
“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.”
The club also said it’ll “review its procedures for handling similar situations in the future”.
The incident was naturally seen in the broader light of sour relations between India and England. Lancashire is trying to attract Indian investment in its county, and has been successful in it with the Sanjiv Goenka-owned RPSG group now holding a 70 percent stake in the Manchester Originals in the Hundred.
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