Why Ronaldo’s Al Nassr AFC Champions League Elite match was delayed by an hour

The AFC Champions League Elite match between Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr and Uzbekistan's Neftchi Fergana faced an hour-long delay due to a security alert issued by Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense. The game took place at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, with a small audience enduring the wait while the players awaited kickoff. The Saudi-led coalition had intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles launched by Houthi rebels towards Riyadh on Monday.

Reports of three explosions rang out in the city that night. The Civil Defense later declared the threat had passed. Eventually, Al-Nassr emerged victorious in a 3-1 affair, with Ronaldo contributing a goal in the first half and Angelo Gabriel scoring shortly after. Alisher Odilov equalized for Neftchi Fergana in the 78th minute with an own goal, sealing the win for their Saudi opponents.

Iran-backed Houthis have carried out recent missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia, including ones on King Khalid International Airport resulting in at least 13 deaths and over 300 injuries on the weekend. International airlines have been cautioned by Yemen's Houthi-controlled Foreign Ministry that flights to Saudi airports are unsafe, except those serving Mecca and Medina.

Egypt's Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty, urged an immediate halt to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia during a call with Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, calling for diplomacy to avert further regional instability.