Anti-immigration demonstrators in southern England mistakenly targeted Pakistan’s Under-19 cricket team while protesting what they believed to be the arrival of asylum seekers, authorities and local officials said. The incident occurred on the evening of September 8 outside a hotel in Cosham, a northern suburb of Portsmouth.

The protest came shortly after demonstrators had disrupted efforts to relocate migrants near Portsmouth, a major port city that has seen an increase in asylum seekers arriving by small boats from mainland Europe. Immigration has become a politically charged and divisive topic in the UK, triggering numerous demonstrations in recent years, some of which have escalated into violence.

According to reports, the unrest was sparked by social media posts claiming that a coach carrying young Asian men had arrived at a Marriott Hotel in Cosham. These reports drew roughly 30 protesters to the scene, who gathered outside the hotel under the assumption that the group were asylum seekers. Hampshire Police later responded after being alerted to the growing crowd.

A police spokesperson said officers attended to speak with the gathered individuals and explained that the concerns were unfounded. While the statement did not explicitly confirm the identity of the group, a local councillor from the anti-immigration party Reform UK helped clarify the situation, confirming that the men were members of Pakistan’s Under-19 cricket squad. The crowd dispersed shortly afterward without any offenses being recorded.

Michael Bradley, a national organizer for the group Stand Up To Racism, condemned the protest as an example of the scapegoating of refugees and migrants, warning of the potential escalation into racist attacks. “When a Pakistan U-19 team is faced by protests because it ‘might’ in fact be a group of migrants, it means that effectively any group of black or Asian people coming into the city are being seen by the far right as a potential target,” he said.

The incident highlights ongoing tensions in parts of the UK surrounding immigration and asylum policies, where misinformation has in some cases fueled public hostility and undermined efforts to foster community cohesion. Authorities continue to monitor such situations to prevent further unrest.