Footballer Ronaldo supports Saudi Arabia after missile alert — Euronews
In Riyadh, Al-Nassr’s match against Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fergana in the AFC Champions League began an hour later due to a missile alert. After the 3-1 victory, Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo came out to the fans wearing a scarf with the Saudi Arabian flag and thanked the stands together with his teammates.
Alert before the start of the game
As Euronews reports, Saudi Arabia’s civil defense issued a warning about 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the game at Al-Awwal Park Stadium. The footballers waited in the dressing rooms, while spectators remained in their seats.
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched toward the capital. Later, civil defense reported that the danger had passed. Before the match, Ronaldo also kissed the national emblem of Saudi Arabia on his shirt.
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Al-Nassr victory
Ronaldo scored in the 42nd minute, bringing his career total to 981 goals. Angelo Gabriel scored Al-Nassr’s first goal, while Alisher Odilov reduced Neftchi’s deficit in the second half. Later, an away player was sent off, and the team also conceded an own goal. It was Al-Nassr’s first victory in the tournament after a 0-4 defeat to Al-Ain in the opening match.
Attacks on the airport
According to Saudi authorities, Houthi attacks on King Khalid International Airport over the weekend claimed the lives of 14 people. Thirteen people were killed and more than 300 injured in Saturday’s strike; a subsequent attack on Sunday killed one person and wounded 11. The airport remains closed.
Saudi officials told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that they are investigating how missiles and drones were able to breach the country’s air defenses. In Yemen, fighting has resumed after four years of relative calm: forces allied with Yemen’s internationally recognized government launched an offensive earlier this month with Saudi Arabian support against the Houthis, described in the article as linked to Iran.
