A Civil Defence alert delayed Al-Nassr’s AFC Champions League Elite match against Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fergana for about an hour on Monday, Oct. 12. Residents received phone warnings as the stadium waited for the danger to pass, while Riyadh airport remained closed after deadly attacks over the weekend.
Civil Defence issued its warning about 15 minutes before kickoff. Players waited in the dressing rooms, while spectators stayed in their seats; the crowd was sparse, the Associated Press reported.
Residents also heard at least three explosions in Riyadh, AP reported. Civil Defence later said the danger had passed.
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted missiles launched toward the capital. The reported count differed: AP said the coalition reported intercepting two ballistic missiles, while Euronews reported one. Yemen’s Houthi movement said King Khalid International Airport was the target. That was the group’s claim about its target, distinct from the coalition’s account of interceptions.
How did the alert affect Riyadh residents and travelers?
The warning interrupted a public event and reached residents’ phones. Separately, operations at King Khalid International Airport remained suspended as the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation continued safety and facility-readiness checks, Euronews reported. The airport’s closure meant the alert came on top of an existing disruption to air travel.
Saudi authorities’ figures cited by Euronews put Saturday, Oct. 10’s airport-attack toll at 13 dead and more than 300 injured. A separate attack on Sunday, Oct. 11, killed one person and injured 11, according to Saudi authorities cited by the outlet. Those are distinct tolls from separate attacks, not casualties from Monday’s alert.
The match resumed after the delay. Al-Nassr beat Neftchi Fergana 3-1; Cristiano Ronaldo scored and later waved a Saudi-flag scarf in front of supporters. The match and post-game scene followed the alert, but the central public consequences in Riyadh also included phone warnings and continuing airport disruption.
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What attacks preceded Monday’s warning?
The airport had also been attacked on Thursday, Oct. 8. Three people were killed in attacks at Riyadh airport, including an airline captain.
The Oct. 10 attack killed at least 12 people and injured 309, Saudi officials told CBS News; the reported death toll later rose to 13 after an injured person died. The Saturday and Sunday figures underscore that the Monday warning followed repeated attacks with serious civilian consequences.
The alert unfolded during renewed fighting involving Saudi Arabia and Houthi forces in Yemen. Euronews reported that Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces had launched an offensive against the Houthis earlier in October. The coalition’s interception statement and the Houthis’ target claim are separate accounts from parties to that conflict.
Riyadh’s airport remained closed after Monday’s alert, with safety and facility-readiness checks continuing. The match went ahead; airport operations had not.
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