Skip to main content

PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Sports fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about sports. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

1,766 published reviews in this topic

FACTLYSports

Several people including PM Modi, former Pakistani cricketers, ICC CEO have demanded a re-match between India and England and India paid ₹25 crores to reach final directly

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim combined several viral-video allegations following India’s 10 November 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to England: that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Pakistani cricketers and an ICC chief demanded a rematch, and that India paid the ICC ₹25 crores to advance directly to the final. FACTLY examined those allegations separately rather than treating the videos as evidence that any demand or payment had occurred. On the alleged payment, the review checked the tournament’s official website for the final’s result and reported that Pakistan and England played it on 13 November. England chased a target of 138 in 19 overs and won; the review also reported finding no news of India paying the ICC to reach the final. On the rematch claims, it said it found no media reports or official announcements supporting Modi’s alleged demand, and no announcement of a rematch. It also noted that Dave Richardson, named in one video as having ordered a rematch, had left the CEO role in 2019; the review identified Geoff Allardice as the current CEO. The review also checked what the cited former Pakistani players had actually said. It reported that Shoaib Akhtar criticised India’s performance and that Shahid Afridi praised England, while finding no reports that Pakistani players accused England of foul play. The reported final result and the absence of supporting announcements or reporting contradict the viral allegations; the review’s checks provide no evidence for the claimed payment or demands.

Factcrescendo Sri LankaSports

ලෝක කුසලාන අවසන් තරගයේදී එංගලන්තය කලු පැටි පැළද ක්‍රීඩා කළේ ධනුෂ්ක ගුණතිලක වෙනුවෙන් ද?

Publisher’s rating: False

The claim was that England’s players wore black armbands during the T20 World Cup final to support Sri Lankan cricketer Dhanushka Gunathilaka, who had been arrested in Australia. The review describes social-media posts making that allegation and says it checked a purported news post attributed to Dasatha Lanka. It reports that the outlet had not published such a story; when asked, its editor said the post was fake and misused the outlet’s logo. That check undermined the purported report, but the review also investigated why the armbands were worn. The review identifies the occasion as the final in which England defeated Pakistan to win the tournament. It says England’s players did wear black armbands, but links them to the death of David English, a former England cricketer who had contributed to English cricket. According to the review, English died on November 12, and the armbands were worn to mourn him. This provides an explanation for the same visible event that differs from the claim’s suggested connection to Gunathilaka. The review’s conclusion is that the armbands were for English, not Gunathilaka. Its text also says that the England and Wales Cricket Board published a condolence message for English and that captain Jos Buttler made a condolence statement, though the supplied excerpt does not include the linked reports or those statements’ contents. The conclusion is therefore supported here by the review’s account of its checks and findings; the excerpt does not provide the underlying linked material for independent examination.

FACTLYSports

Videos of Indian cricket players after India lost to England in the semi-final match of T20 World Cup 2022 held on 10 November 2022

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The review examined videos shared as showing Indian players reacting after India lost to England in the T20 World Cup semi-final on 10 November 2022. It found that the clips did not all document that match: they came from different occasions, and some were presented with the wrong context. For the clips featuring Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the review traced Kohli’s emotional message to a video posted on his official account on 24 May 2018, about Royal Challengers Bangalore’s IPL performance. It traced Rohit’s message to a video on his official Facebook page dated 30 April 2021. The review says that Rohit was thanking people for birthday wishes and urging them to follow COVID-19 guidance, rather than responding to the World Cup result. Other clips also had earlier or different contexts. Kohli’s supposed retirement announcement was a press conference following India’s loss to Pakistan in the Asia Cup; a clip said to show Suryakumar Yadav crying came from an Instagram live with teammates; and Dhoni’s purported post-match statement came from a 2019 motivational speech. The review also distinguishes a separate Rohit Sharma press-conference video, which it says was recorded before the semi-final and contained no retirement announcement. Its conclusion is that the videos were old or unrelated to the England match, not a set of post-match reactions as claimed.

FACTLYSports

India and Pakistani fans dancing to the ‘Jai Shree Ram’ song at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a video presented as showing Indian and Pakistani cricket fans dancing to “Jai Shree Ram” at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The post’s text called it “The unity at MCG” and linked the scene to the India–Pakistan T20 match held there on 23 October 2022. The review examined whether the audio in the viral clip matched the footage.