The Saudi Pro League has, for the most part, managed to continue as usual.
Several national championship matches had to be postponed, including three matches last month, as the situation worsened.
The matches were moved immediately after the attack on a major Riyadh airport, although the SPL said they were moved “due to mandatory minimum rest periods between matches and to meet logistical requirements”.
Following the postponement of the Asian Cup, this weekend’s full round of the Saudi Pro League has been canceled.
Once again, the league did not attribute this to conflict in the region, instead saying the schedule would be recalibrated following the cancellation of the Asian Cup to achieve “a more balanced distribution of matches”.
The AFC Champions League was also affected.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Kingsley Coman were among Al-Nassr’s star players who did not fly to Uzbekistan this week “given the pressure of matches and the amount of travel involved”.
UAE’s Al-Wasl also opted not to travel to Saudi Arabia to face Al-Nassr, and the match will be rearranged.
Meanwhile, wife Ollie Watkins, who plays for Riyadh-based Al-Hilal, posted on TikTok that she would stay in the UK with their two children “until things calm down”.
“We had a little plot twist,” Ellie Watkins said. “I came back to the UK for a little while.
“There is just a little conflict and things happening in Saudi Arabia and we decided to stay here.
“I felt like I had to do this for the kids so that there would be some form of normalcy until we could go back out there and be all together.”
Other well-known stars playing in the country include Gabriel Martinelli, Tijjani Reijnders, Darwin Nunez, Ivan Toney, Alexandre Lacazette, Ruben Neves, Sadio Mane and Joao Felix.
Gn sports
