SHOCKING! England cricketer Moeen Ali stopped at Birmingham airport

New Delhi: In a shocking incident, England cricketer Moeen Ali was on Saturday stopped at the Birmingham airport for close to 40 minutes. 

Clearly angered by the treatment meted out to him by airport authorities, the all-rounder took to social micro-blogging site Twitter to share his sentiments.

The 28-year-old stated that he has never stopped at the airport while traveling with the England squad.

Birmingham airport!! Hard times. — Moeen Ali (@MoeenAli) April 9, 2016

Have never been stopped at the airport when travelling with a team in uniform, but travel alone and get stopped for 40 minutes!! Joke

— Moeen Ali (@MoeenAli) April 9, 2016

Ali's England teammate Adil Rashid was quick to offer his support. The leg-spinner termed the authorities as 'clowns' for stopping Ali.

@MoeenAli that's a shambles my pra #clowns — Adil Rashid (@AdilRashid03) April 9, 2016

Former England batsman Owais Shah stated the sad reality of the situation was that Moeen's beard probably prompted airport officials to stop him. 

@MoeenAli your beard might have something to do with it. #sadreally — Owais shah (@owaisshah203) April 9, 2016

While some went on to troll him with distasteful jokes, others offered plenty of support to Ali.

Very sad to see Moeen Ali being subject to this. A reality of many Muslims I'm sure.. https://t.co/JP8l5MGfCx — Jack Mendel (@JackMendel4) April 9, 2016