A crowd of approximately 30 to 40 people assembled outside the Marriott Hotel in Portsmouth’s Cosham district on Tuesday evening after erroneous reports suggested migrants had arrived at the location. The gathering was based on misinformation that circulated online, with individuals mistakenly identifying members of Pakistan’s under-19 cricket team as asylum seekers. According to officials from the Pakistan Cricket Board, some protesters made their way to the floor where the team was residing and knocked on doors, though the young players responded calmly and avoided escalating tensions.
Local authorities attended the scene and determined no criminal offenses had taken place. The crowd dispersed by approximately 9:00 PM. Despite the disruption, the visiting team proceeded with their scheduled cricket match the following day as planned.
Sumair Syed, the Pakistan Cricket Board’s chief operating officer, characterized the incident as unfortunate and emphasized the importance of security measures throughout the remainder of the tour. He stated that the England and Wales Cricket Board has committed to implementing enhanced protective arrangements for the visiting squad. Reform councillor George Madgwick, who attended the event, acknowledged that hotel staff had demonstrated documentation confirming the guests were touring cricketers and had urged online followers against gathering at the venue.
Portsmouth North Labour MP Amanda Martin condemned the incident, stating it was unacceptable that false information had resulted in young athletes being wrongly targeted during their visit to the city. The event occurred just two days after local protests followed the arrival of approximately 120 migrants in Portsmouth.
Originally reported by Sports.yahoo →
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