Pak players get harsh welcome from fans at airport [Merged]

Pakistan vice captain Younis gets harsh welcome from fans at airport
The Associated Press
Published: March 27, 2007


KARACHI, Pakistan: A group of Pakistani cricket fans chanted slogans against vice captain Younis Khan as he arrived home after the team's shocking exit from the World Cup, witnesses said Tuesday.
"Bring a donkey for him and ask him to sit on it and roam him around the city," said Rana Majid, one of the angry fans at Karachi International Airport when Khan arrived from London late Monday.
"He has brought disgrace to the country and he should stop playing cricket for Pakistan," said Mohammed Ahsan, who was also at the airport.
Pakistan's Cricket Board was cagey Tuesday about when the rest of the squad would return after its humiliating loss to minnows Ireland in the West Indies, which was followed a day later by the murder of coach Bob Woolmer at a hotel in Jamaica.
"Some players will come to Karachi while some of them will reach Lahore," Cricket Board spokesman Ahsan Malik told The Associated Press. "I have no knowledge about their flight plans, they might reach Pakistan by Wednesday morning.
Khan was the second Pakistani player to return home. Earlier Monday, star batsman Mohammad Yousuf also landed at Karachi airport but managed to evade waiting journalists, according to local media.
Khan had less luck.
Just one airport security official accompanied him from the arrival lounge, and people gathered around the Pakistan vice captain the moment they saw him heading toward his car. Khan responded angrily to the slogans against him.
"Who will make me sit on the donkey?" he asked before being hustled into the waiting vehicle by some relatives.
"Such things do happen in cricket, so why are you all so angry?" said one of the relatives, who did not give his name. The car then sped off.
Cricket is a passion among Pakistan's 160 million people, and the loss to Ireland sparked anger among fans eager for a repeat of the country's 1992 World Cup triumph. Some burned effigies of skipper Inzamam ul-Haq.
On Monday, the government urged the international media to go easy on the team, saying it was shocked by the killing of Woolmer, a former England test player who had coached the talented but unpredictable side for nearly three years.
"Our players are already traumatized and they have lost somebody who was very close to them, who was very dear to them," said Tasnim Aslam, spokeswoman for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry.
Police have identified no suspects in Woolmer's death. The Pakistan team was allowed to leave Jamaica Saturday after police fingerprinted and took DNA samples from all team members.

one of the angry fans at Karachi International Airport when Khan arrived from London late Monday.

lol he deserves it and so do all the pakistani squad

No one is saying they don't deserve it, but there is a time and place for it.

After having gone through what they did, they deserve time to themselves instead of being riddiculed.

Their performance in the WC will certainly be scrutinized, but let the man have some peace in the short term.

Okay the team dissapointed us...but there is no need to hurl abuse at them in public especially considering the circumstances surrounding our coach's pssing

Pakistan's players have no reasons to fear a return home, according to team spokesman Pervez Mir.

The squad finally left their Heathrow hotel, which has been their base for the last couple of days since their return from the World Cup in the Caribbean, to make the journey back to Pakistan.

Since their surprise exit from the tournament and the even more shocking murder of coach Bob Woolmer in his Jamaican hotel room, emotions have been running high in Pakistan.

However, Mir said the players had nothing to fear when they touch down in their homeland.

"Pakistan are a very proud nation, they respect their players but tempers do sometimes flare," he said.

"People are disappointed and there are always certain people who are a bit over the top but I'm sure the PCB [Pakistan Cricket Board] have made all the necessary arrangements for the players and there is no reason for concern, especially when you go back to your own country.

"When you go home, you are never nervous but, of course, there is that disappointment. But let's look forward to the future and future victory. I've always said we don't have a copyright on winning games."

Mir also dismissed suggestions any Pakistan players were suspects in the Woolmer murder inquiry.

"I would say that the Pakistani team was never a suspect. We had nothing to do with it," he added.

"We were part of the same inquiry as everybody else so of course we were questioned."

He said it was "absolutely absurd" to say Woolmer had argued with members of the team, including captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, before his death.

"There were a lot of rumours that I had rowed with Inzamam and that was a joke," Mir added.

"But at least I was here, thank God, to answer those questions. Mr Woolmer is not here,.

"He was a very good man, a good coach and a father figure. Let's remember him for all those things rather than tarnish his memory."
__________________

a load of bulllshit by Mir as usual. ask the players and they will tell u if they arent nervous of coming back home. I think coz of woolmer's death thte people will give the players some respite. Had that not happened, trust me they wouldnt be treated well on theeir return.

All in all, Mir has no idea what he is talking about

After all that they have been through I dont think they deserve this.

I'd rather the PCB and the airport authorities allowed the players to leave through any back/side doors where they dont have to face the public.

That, in a nutshell, encapsulates what is wrong with Pakistani cricket fans.

I take solace in the fact that it was, by all accounts, just a few people - and not a baying mob. So, there is hope ...

disgraceful and disgusting. these fans should be arrested and put away until they learn to behave like human beings.

well done on Younis for replying to the morons. if it were me, I would have replied using my bat a la Inzi.

idiots.

what else can anyone say when talking to the media.

Well YK has flopped for to long in ODIS and if hes made ODI skipper it would be a disgrace. Am not surprised fans gave him such comments.

however, why insult the donkey by letting younis sit on it?

Great. And this is the same Younis who you want to fight for your country, the next time we play a Test.

I was a big supporter for YK and him being the captain but his EXTREMELY POOR performance in the WC has really dropped me in my eyes. His shots when he got out were the poorest of the big 3 (showing lack of responsibility or inability to handle pressure). I hope he did not perform badly for selfish motives so he can become the next captain quickly as Pak's exit in the first round would have guaranteed Inzi's removal from captaincy. We will probably never know.

I can see he is treated harshly by the crowd but that comes with the being a star in Pakistan cricket teams with fame, money that comes with does come some abuse which in this case is fully justified. Players need to know how bad they have performed and how much it hurt the whole nation.

who should be ODI skipper then and therefore you are advocating separate skippers for ODIs and tests?

Thats true thats what I was talking about!!!!!!!!!!!

Younis is and has been poor in ODIs for ages. We are probably going have him as captain because there are only 2 certainties to the team (Yousuf and Asif[Shoaib is always injured]). Players like Shoaib Malik tend to struggle outside the subcontinent and need to work on their techniques to be considered 'undroppable'.

Totally and utterly uncalled for. Disgraceful behavior by some absolute idiots.

yeah this was expected, but it is pathetic. after what the players have gone through, i think the fans should just leave them alone. So much for PJ Mir's stupid statements.

Certainly not Younis.

Thanks for being so specific in telling us your pick for the ODI team.

I think, with everything that has transpired, THEY ALREADY KNOW THIS.

Exactly what do pathetic scenes like this achieve, other than to underline just how uncivilised Pakistani's can be? There are many avenues to vent your disapointment. Write/phone in your opinions. The media is there partly to convey the publics feelings back to the players.

You know what, THEY GET IT.

What do you think is achieved by physically threatening and intimidating players - other than showing just how PATHETIC Pakistani's can be.

And don't DARE ask next time, why did Pakistan play with such fear - instead of confidence. Cr4p like this is PARTLY THE REASON WHY!

A name would help ?

The reception was not that bad.

A couple of people may have shouted something but generally people were happy to see him. Younis was even laughing and people were trying to hug him. Typical sensationalised article.

Fans always go on about everybody else being out to "get us", they don't need to when we have so called "supporters" like these "donkeys" at the airport.

Pathetic and disgraceful behaviour, which is already being played up by the media here, (saw it on Sky Sports news), making us all look bad in front of the world.

some idiots will always behave this way

yaar, do you have a clip of this incident? Is it on YouTube? Thanks.

Hope so Hash. I was just going by the tone of what was written. I haven't seen anything.

I can't post the clip but I can post pictures. Give me a sec.

Pakistan could make Muhammed yousuf test and ODI skipper.

If not then Younis khan should be test skipper and Muhammed yousuf ODI skipper.

Lets not go down the road like new zealand 1996 picking a skipper whose not good enough to be in team on merit alone (lee germon)

150+ odis is more than enuf games to prove a point or lack of it...! Younis khan shoudnt even be in the ODI team Id rather pakistan give a youngster like bazid khan, fawad alam shahid yousuf 150 odi games and see how they do..!

This went totally out of hand. I cant believe how our fans treat a well known cricketer like Younis.

Younis arrives at Karachi 1

Younis is constipated

Younis attempts to make his way through the crowd

Younis still trying to get through the crowd

ha ha ha.. I like your comment.
Listen to Younis's Comment: "Who will make me sit on the donkey?"
I don't feel sorry for them. I think they deserve it....

so our coach was murdered, quite possibly by some overzealous fans. our vice captain is walking around with one airport security guard by his side, surrounded by ... overzealous fans.

Younis khan and pakistan other two members (inzi/moyo) of the so called big three have been major failures in pretty much all world cups they have played in with the bat. Barring inzis arrival in 1992 i have to say its been very dissapointing return from all three in world cups.

If players like YK are get comments of fans its fully deserved!

Frankly I think the buffoons who were hassling Younis should have been given a good hiding by the police. These are the same type of idiot who were seen on GEO saying that Woolmer had died of shame shortly after Bob's death.

AJ - trust me, having one captain for Pakistan is bad enough, to have 2 different ones would be suicidal.

Well give the Job to the one player who merits inclusion in both sides, has captained pakistan before on occasions and has been Vice-skipper as well in past. Muhammed Yousuf.

So what he can improve. Its not like he called it quits yet?

I think some posters should stop treating players like martyrs.

I think some alleged fans should stop treating players as though they own them - especially those junglees at the airport.

That's just wrong!!what if he was trying really start but just couldn't click(he made a 70 odd in the warm up game) and on top of that he had to deal with the death of his coach?...and you say he deserves to be associated with any old animal on the street.

I seriously think if we want our team to improve then the fans will really need to change this attitude!

I feel bad for people who would drag their as$es out of their beds and all the way to the airport at 2 in the night( probably by bus or something) just to chant slogans at YK.

Its call passion
You gota take your anger out somehow.

Pakistans performances over last 12 months have been nothing short of pathetic and disgraceful. Younis khan and few others should consider themselves Dummy players.

If younis wants so much respect from outside world he should earn it. Yes people shouldnt go over-board but to say players dont deserve some criticism is far fetched!

and who said they dont deserve some criticism ??? Criticism comes with their profession, but for people to react in the way they have at the airport is in your words AJ, pathetic and disgraceful.

btw how long is Inzi planning on "resting" in London before slipping into Pakistan?

inzi is going to land at kabul airport, and try to make his way into paksitan by crossing the border undetected.

That's not passion. It is called "lack of anything constructive to do with their lives".

If i would have been in Younis Khan's place, i wouldnt have replied back to the comments. Goes on to show his temperament.

Younis Khan deserve this.

agreed. these idiots need to be kept in jail until they learn to live in civilized society.

Regardless of the fact if he deserves it or not, this is frankly not the time!

Oh how insightful of you to say that. You deserve a chapair from your ammi too.

is asking that the guy not be harassed treating him like a martyr?

I think some posters should stop thinking of players like they own them.

there are plenty of constructive ways of "taking out one's anger".

and this most certainly isn't called passion. this is called behaving like animals.

The angry mob is expected after such an exit. But the reaction by younis puzzles me. He should have known better. Reaction like this cost Afridi his WC. They are star players sharing the spotlights. This to me says that he has no idea what the public expectation is form a vice captain. Also, if you can take the fame then should be able to shoulder some of the blame too. This comes with the territory. Understanding his own fault is the first step that similar situation doesn't araise. I don't see that from the above news. Totally opposite reaction and he would be the future captain??

yeah because its their fault that their government cant provide them with better education where they learn how to behave like a human.

no, he doesn't. people like you deserve to eat your own cooking but the players need to be left alone.

there are plenty of decent and civilized ways of holding the players accountable. harassing, humiliating and potentially bringing physical harm to them is not the way to do so.

An uneducated Canadian from a village deep into the country behaves better. Islam has taught has manners regardless of our education.

Education makes you a better person and opens up the brain but that does not mean that uneducated people must live like Jungali Janwars.

Right on buddy. I mean in 99 Pakistan got to the final. Instead of congradulating them for getting there, they got humiliated back home because we had one bad game. Ridiculous to say the least.

not everything comes from the government.

taleem-o-tarbeeat comes from parents and family - which is obviously something these idiots are lacking.

Pakistan fans should have rolled out the Red carpet and had an open bus parade. After all pakistans performances over last 12 months deserve such rewards..!

what a ridiculously retarded thing to say! don't be such a martyr. nobody's saying that the players should be treated like gods. I don't think players should be treated like gods even when they win. we go overboard when they win and we go overboard when they lose. lets learn the middle way, the sane way, the way of common sense.

allow the players their self respect. don't harass and humiliate them.

and quite frankly, if someone like you who probably has some education behind him can't see that, then what is to be expected of the average sarakchaap "fan"?

so u mean put them in jail because they didnt get better taleem-o-tarbeeat from their parents than the others?

today, I don't care whether they got any tarbeeat at all or not. all I know is what they're doing to the players and it is simply not on.

if they do this, they need to be stopped. and generally the way used to stop idiots who behave like a mob is to jail them.

airport should have security and shouldn't allow a mob to be there. There are other ways to get important people (celebrities/VIPs) out from airport and they can easily do that if they want to.

To me people who go to the airport to greet or boo players don't have much to do and they take their cricket too seriously and personally so I don't blame them much. If some think it is great that people go there to greet the players when they win then they should be okay with this too. I think it is not good either way. Cricketers and cricket are treated as the most important thing in Pakistan. the mob was also there when they were leaving for WC and there were complaints and post that where is the security. that can be avoided too by just driving them inside the airport instead of parading them around

I have not seen any other country humiliate thier players like Pakistanis [Leaving India Aside] do! Yes we have been bad over the last year. But have been bad over the past 4 years? Were we so horrible that people have forgotten our great wins? Our 2nd and 3rd ICC rankings? If Afridi does not hit a 6, he is a **** and when he does next day he is a Good fellow? This is why i am so critical of the such people who show up at the airports.

What a retarded bunch of lot - who come to bash the team at the airport becasue we lost the final - forgetting that we got there! Hello!

He got what he deserves....those unforgivable shots he got out to in the wc.

he should be dropped from the ODI side...disgraceful

this might not have happened had he scored....so i'll blame him all the way.

Its easy for you to say mate becasue you are not the one who is playing. We make mistakes too. Should we be fired?

Does he have a choice on what to say
but the ob\vious

absolutely...

but the thing that boggles my mind is the level of acceptance and almost tacit approval of such behaviour on this board. probably all the posters on this board come from educated backgrounds. and if they can't see that this sort of behaviour is wrong, then is there any hope of educating the masses?

do you know what unforgivable means? do you know what disgraceful means? playing poorly in a game is neither unforgivable nor disgraceful.

what is disgraceful though is your approval of such a shameful display of hooliganism!

The difference between us and the Western World in general is that they are behind the team/nation all the way even if they are going through the shittiest time! We get too emotional to quickly in everything.

Yes the team played bad and we should criticize them and they must be pressured to improve. But these people forget that actions of a few are recognized as the actions of Pakistanis to the rest of the world..

We lost, we have people out on the street, saying death to inzi/woolmer, and then woolmer dies and whole nation is ridiculed.. I for one was embaraced becasue my countrymen wanted death over a stupid game.. it's a game not a war..Yes we lost so what, next time I see Younis I will call him a MOFO at the airport? Ridiculous..

well said. it's very, very unfortunate though that there are posters on PP who can't see that.

I completely agree with your sentiments.

I dont accept this behaviour, but he replied to the comment and the matter was finished then and there.

The comment didnt even deserved a reply. I know who is making fool of himself, so why reply?

The best way to sho wyour displeasure as fans is by NOT TURNING UP! That will hurt the team - guaranteed.

Going to the airport to hurl abuse and issue threats is UNCIVILISED - Herschelle Gibbs must be smiling....

The pakistan team deserve criticisim

Younis Khan was poor in the World Cup and has overall been an average ODI player BUT there is no way this behaviour is justified - we have so many avenues to criticise players BUT it seems there are some individuals who prefer to behave like animals.

What i find sad is that those people that stayed up til 2am went to the airport to hurl abuse BUT i guarantee if there was a protest in Karachi against domestic violence not one of those cretins would turn up - like MT said people like that should be flung in Jail, perhaps it will have some positive effect on them

excellent, excellent point.

not just domestic violence, acid burns etc, even if it was something like freedom of press and speech or democracy - something that impacts the whole damn country - none of these idiots could be bothered to even leave their beds. the vast majority of them probably don't even vote but when it comes time to go harass and humiliate the team, they show up at ungodly hours at night.

and to do what? just to be able to act like the animals that they are. idiots. I hope they get caught on the receiving end of a mob and then they'll know what it feels like.