Viral video does not show upset Pakistani fans vandalising stadium after Asia Cup 2025 final defeat against India

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search and a keyword search to corroborate the video.

Post from multiple Indian users on social media platform X on September 28, 2025, shared a video claiming that it showed Pakistani fans vandalising the stadium after the cricket team lost against India in the Asia Cup final. However, the video is old from September 9, 2022, and shows Afghan fans following Pakistan’s win over Afghanistan in the Asia Cup Super-Four match.

The Asia Cup 2025 culminated in a highly anticipated final between India and Pakistan in Dubai on Sept 28, where India beat Pakistan by five wickets in a high-stakes contest, marking their third consecutive Asia Cup victory over their arch-rivals. Both teams had performed strongly throughout the competition, setting up a classic contest for the title.

The closing ceremony descended into farce as the Indian cricket team refused to collect the winners’ trophy from Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi, as politics continued to spill over the pitch. There were no customary handshakes between the teams after India refused, with tensions high from their previous two clashes in the competition, which witnessed political posturing and aggressive on-field behaviour.

HOW IT STARTED

On Sept 28, a user, who appears to be Indian based on their past posts, posted a video on X of a crowd vandalising stadium seats and throwing them around with the following caption: “Pakistani reaction after losing to India in Asia Cup final.”

The post gained over 407,000 views.

The video with similar claims was also widely shared by other Indian users on X as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of the account due to its high virality and keen public interest in the matter.

A keyword search to check for any rowdiness or vandalism by Pakistani fans after the match yielded no news reports or videos of any such incident.

A reverse image search yielded a September 8, 2022, video that was shared by media outlet Dawn on Instagram with the following caption: “Scenes from Sharjah last night show angry fans throwing seat cushions and bottles at the stadium after Afghanistan lost to Pakistan by one wicket in their Super Four match of the Asia Cup 2022. Video via Mohammed Khanani on Instagram.”

A keyword search for the incident yielded multiple credible mainstream media reports on the matter.

A September 9, 2022, Al Arabia English news report titled, “Video: Sharjah Cricket Stadium vandalised as tense Afghanistan-Pakistan match ends”, mentioned that the UAE’s Sharjah Cricket Stadium was vandalised amid fighting between fans after an Asia Cup match between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Pakistan had defeated Afghanistan in a nail-biting Super Four clash at Sharjah during the 2022 Asia Cup. The loss sparked violent scenes as Afghan fans vandalised stadium property, hurled seats and clashed with Pakistani supporters. United Arab Emirates police later fined several fans involved in the brawl.

The incident was also reported by several domestic and Indian media outlets such as Geo News, Bol News, Dawn news, Hindustan Times, and India Today.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows upset Pakistani fans vandalising the stadium after the cricket team lost to India in the Asia Cup 2025 final is false.

The video is old from September 2022 and shows Afghan fans after their team’s defeat in a Pakistan–Afghanistan Asia Cup 2022 match.