Thousands of fans without tickets force their entry into the stadium for AFG vs PAK match, ICC issues an apology

The T20 World Cup match between Pakistan and Afghanistan saw thousands of fans entering the stadium without tickets. As a result, there was a lot of confusion that prevailed.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed that more than 16000 tickets had been sold for the match between the two sides, but many ticketless supporters attempted forced entry.

“More than 16,000 tickets had been issued for tonight’s game between Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, thousands of ticketless fans travelled to the venue and then attempted to force entry into the stadium,” said the ICC in its statement.

Police and staff secured the stadium to ensure safety: ICC statement

The ICC statement also added that the Dubai Police Force along with the security staff deployed in the stadium secured the venue to ensure that all the people inside the stadium were safe. The Dubai Police had also ordered that all the gates in the stadium should be closed as well.

“Dubai Police and security staff secured the stadium to ensure the safety of everyone inside and brought in significant additional resources to disperse the crowd and calm the situation. At approximately 7pm, Dubai Police directed that all gates should remain closed and no further entry was permitted to maintain a safe and controlled environment inside the venue,” read the ICC statement.

Afghanistan cricket fans thinking Dubai stadium is a chartered plane to America. #PAKvAFG #PakvsAfg pic.twitter.com/OBWgcskbrn

— Saadat Ali Zia (@my55cents) October 29, 2021

The ICC statement further added that the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) will do a thorough investigation of the matter and will also ensure that such an event does not arise in the future.

“The ICC has asked the ECB to undertake a thorough investigation into tonight’s events to learn any lessons and will work closely with authorities to ensure there is no repeat of this situation in the future.  The ICC and ECB apologise to any fans with valid tickets who were unable to enter the stadium tonight and request they contact the ticket provider,” concluded the statement from the ICC.

The Pakistan side beat the Afghanistan outfit with 5 wickets and an over to spare in the encounter between the two sides on 29th October 2021.