Pakistan and Afghanistan cricket fans involved in fight outside Headingley after plane flew over ground with ‘Justice for Balochistan’ message

An unauthorised aeroplane flew over the Cricket Ground that triggered violent scenes

Jack de Menezes
Saturday 29 June 2019 13:23 BST
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Fans of Pakistan and Afghanistan clashed outside Headingley Cricket Ground
Fans of Pakistan and Afghanistan clashed outside Headingley Cricket Ground (Twitter/@SultanShah1)

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Footage of a mass brawl between Pakistan and Afghanistan cricket fans outside Headingley has emerged on social media.

The two teams were competing in the Cricket World Cup at the Yorkshire ground, where Pakistan are looking to strengthen their hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the 2019 tournament.

Afghanistan on the other hand have already been eliminated from the tournament, and were due to participate in their penultimate match in the UK before going home after next Thursday’s clash with the West Indies.

However, the match at Headingley Cricket Ground was marred by a violent clash outside that appeared to be triggered by an aeroplane flying overhead towing the message “Justice for Balochistan”.

The message is in relation to the Balochistan region in south-western Asia, which comprises areas of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, where Baloch nationalists have battled with the Pakistan and Iran governments for independence with the support of Afghanistan.

Watch the video below...

The incident sparked the ugly scene outside the cricket ground, where individuals wearing shirts of both sides were seen fighting.

One man was seen picking up a secutiry barrier
One man was seen picking up a secutiry barrier (Twitter/@SultanShah1)
The fight occurred outside the venue where the two teams were playing
The fight occurred outside the venue where the two teams were playing (Twitter/@SultanShah1)
Others were seen using water bottles as weapons
Others were seen using water bottles as weapons (Twitter/@SultanShah1)

One man could be seen in video footage picking up a security barrier, while others were seen to throw bottles of water and a megaphone.

A banner reading 'Justice for Balochistan' was flown over Headingley Cricket Ground that trigger the fight
A banner reading 'Justice for Balochistan' was flown over Headingley Cricket Ground that trigger the fight (Twitter/@azm_go)

The angry confrontation was controlled after a few seconds as other fans separated those fighting, and Leeds’ Air Traffic control will investigate how the aeroplane was able to fly over the stadium with the message attached, according to the Asian New International agency.

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