Afghan Cricket Fans Involved in Vandalism Fined AED3,000
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) police have imposed heavy fines on Afghan fans who lost their cool and resorted to violence following Afghanistan’s defeat in a nail-biting thriller against Pakistan on Wednesday.
Pakistan registered a come-from-behind win against Afghanistan thanks to Naseem Shah’s two back-to-back sixes in the final over off Fazalhaq Farooqi.
The win not only saw them through to the final against Sri Lanka but also knocked out Afghanistan and Sri Lanka from the tournament.
Unable to digest this loss, some Afghan fans began vandalizing stadium property. As a result, some of the spectators were briefly held by the police, however, no arrests were made.
In Sharjah, more than 2 dozen Afghan citizens have been detained by the local police on charges of rioting and attacking Pakistani fans at the end of the Pakistan-Afghanistan cricket match. A report has been sent to the Pakistani Embassy pic.twitter.com/VvUwi5mK4B
— Zee (@ISI_ZINDABAD_) September 8, 2022
However, according to Geo News, the Sharjah police have imposed a fine of AED3,000 (approximately Rs190,000) on the spectators involved in the unfortunate incident. The police have also warned that in case such an event takes place in the future, those involved will be deported.
Earlier, Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja called the incident “sickening” and vowed to raise the matter with the ICC, saying ” you cannot link hooliganism with cricket and this is unacceptable.”
“This game doesn’t want such an environment. The visuals were really bad. This wasn’t the first time such a thing happened. Emotions should be kept in check, we own our fans and we lodge a protest with the ICC (International Cricket Council).”
