Lancashire Cricket has issued a public apology following an incident during the fourth Test match between England and India at Old Trafford, Manchester, where a Pakistani supporter, Farooq Nazar, was removed from the stadium. The episode drew widespread attention after Farooq posted a video of the event, which quickly gained traction on social media.
Fan Asked to Cover Pakistan Jersey, Then Escorted Out
Farooq claimed he was approached by a Lancashire official who allegedly asked him to conceal his Pakistan cricket jersey. His refusal reportedly led to security officials escorting him out of the ground, with both stewards and police involved in the process.
“𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒋𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑭𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒒 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒐.
Lancashire later addressed the controversy in an official statement:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒎 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎. 𝑨𝒏𝒚 𝒖𝒑𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔.”
Prior Incident Between Fans Influenced the Response
Lancashire clarified that the response to Farooq’s case was influenced by an earlier incident during the same Test match. On the previous day, a group of fans had waved a Pakistan national flag, which sparked tensions with nearby Indian supporters. Stewards successfully de-escalated the situation by asking the group to put the flag away, which they did respectfully.
“In light of this context, our team adopted a safety-first approach,” the club stated. “A stand supervisor politely asked the individual to cover his shirt to prevent any possible unrest. Despite multiple requests, the fan refused to comply.”
Rising India-Pakistan Tensions Cast Shadow on Cricket
This episode unfolds amid escalating political tensions between India and Pakistan, especially after the Pahalgam terror attacks in May. Diplomatic strain has affected cricket relations too. India Champions notably pulled out of their matches against Pakistan Champions in the 2025 World Championship of Legends, including the group stage and semi-final, leading to Pakistan advancing to the final uncontested.
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