Archive · 10 Sep 2026
Pakistani Under-19 Cricketers Mistaken for Asylum Seekers in UK
Pakistan’s under-19 cricket team went to Britain to play a match.
They stayed at a hotel in Cosham, Hampshire.
A group of masked protesters thought the young players were asylum seekers.
They became suspicious because the team’s bus company had also transported migrants.
Councillor George Madgwick told the group that the visitors were cricketers.
The protesters left soon afterward.
Police said about 30 people had gathered and that their concerns were not based on facts.
Anti-racism campaigners said the incident showed how migrants and people from minority backgrounds can be unfairly blamed.
Some Pakistani social-media users joked about the event, while others expressed anger.
Masked protesters entered a Marriott hotel in Cosham, Hampshire, believing Pakistani teenage cricketers were asylum seekers.
The group reportedly reacted after seeing the team’s coach, which came from a company also used to transport migrants arriving by boat.
Councillor George Madgwick helped identify the visitors as a cricket team, after which the protesters dispersed.
Hampshire Police said about 30 people gathered, that their concerns were unfounded, and that offences had been identified.
Anti-racism campaigners condemned the incident as evidence that heated immigration rhetoric can make refugees, migrants and minority communities scapegoats.
- Who
- Pakistan’s under-19 cricket team, a group of roughly 30 protesters, Hampshire Police, Councillor George Madgwick and anti-racism campaigners.
- What
- Masked anti-immigration protesters mistakenly confronted Pakistani teenage cricketers after identifying them as asylum seekers.
- When
- The incident occurred after the team arrived in Britain on Tuesday and two days after demonstrations near the city’s port.
- Where
- The Marriott hotel in Cosham, Hampshire, United Kingdom.
- Why
- The protesters reportedly believed the team’s coach was linked to vehicles used to transport migrants who had crossed the English Channel by boat.
Protesters’ Immigration Concerns
Critics’ Racism Concerns
Reason for the confrontation
Protesters’ Immigration Concerns
Protesters were concerned about a coach associated with a company that had transported migrants arriving by boat, and believed asylum seekers were staying at the hotel.
Critics’ Racism Concerns
Anti-racism campaigners said the mistaken identification showed how heated immigration rhetoric can turn refugees, migrants and Asian or Black people into scapegoats.
Interpretation of the incident
Protesters’ Immigration Concerns
Councillor George Madgwick described it as an unfortunate misunderstanding involving local people already on high alert over immigration.
Critics’ Racism Concerns
Pakistani commentator Salman Sikandar and other critics viewed the episode as an example of racism being enabled and acted upon.
- Visitors
- Pakistan’s under-19 cricket team
- Location
- Marriott hotel, Cosham, Hampshire
- Protesters
- Approximately 30 people, many wearing balaclavas or other face coverings
- Immediate outcome
- The group dispersed after being told the visitors were a cricket team
- Police response
- Hampshire Police said the concerns were unfounded and that offences had been identified
- Political context
- The incident followed demonstrations over migrants arriving across the English Channel in small boats
- Criticism
- Stand Up to Racism said the episode showed how refugees and migrants can become scapegoats