Al Nassr vs Al Wasl Postponed Over Flight Chaos
Al Nassr vs Al Wasl has been postponed after flight disruptions prevented the Dubai club from travelling to Riyadh for their AFC Champions League Elite match. The Asian Football Confederation confirmed that the third-round fixture, scheduled for Monday night at Al Awwal Park in Riyadh, will now be played at a later date, with a new date and kick-off time to be announced in due course.
Why the match was called off
Al Wasl decided against making the trip to the Saudi capital because of travel difficulties, particularly the lack of available flights. The AFC said the fixture could not proceed as scheduled once it became clear the visiting team could not reach Riyadh in time. The match officials’ delegation had reportedly travelled as planned, but the Al Wasl squad itself did not make the journey.
The postponement comes amid wider disruption to travel between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Several flights have been cancelled or delayed following renewed threats and attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group against Saudi airports, affecting services operated by airlines including Emirates, flydubai, flynas and Saudia, with cancellations involving flights to Riyadh, Jeddah, Medina and Dammam. Travellers have been advised to check their flight status with their airline before heading to the airport.
Ronaldo’s Al Nassr left waiting
The decision left Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, the Saudi Pro League champions, without a game despite completing every hosting obligation. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation had welcomed the appointed AFC officiating crew, issued all required operational clearances and prepared Al Awwal Park to host the match under full security and sporting standards.
The contrast between Riyadh’s full readiness and Al Wasl’s inability to travel drew criticism from many Al Nassr fans and voices across the wider Saudi football community. Several Saudi legal experts publicly argued that the AFC’s decision lacked a clear textual foundation under the competition regulations, pointing out that Al Nassr bore no fault for the visiting side’s travel problems yet had their domestic schedule disrupted.
Wider chaos in Asian football
The Al Nassr postponement is not an isolated incident. Travel disruption has thrown parts of the Asian football calendar into confusion this week. Two Iranian clubs, Tractor and Esteghlal, will play their matches in the UAE in the AFC Champions League Elite this week rather than in their home country.
Monday’s other group-stage fixture in the kingdom, Al Qadsiah against Qatari side Al Sadd in Dammam, was due to proceed as scheduled, underlining that the problem was specific to the Al Wasl trip rather than a blanket shutdown of football in Saudi Arabia.
The disruption also follows other security-linked cancellations in the region. Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence said falling debris from the interception of two ballistic missiles launched by Yemen’s Houthi militia injured two people and damaged three residential buildings and seven vehicles in the provinces of Khamis Mushait and Ahad Rafidah. The Houthis also renewed their warning to airlines, airport staff and travellers against using Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, calling it unsafe and a military target.
What happens next
Neither club yet knows when the fixture will be rearranged. The AFC has said only that the new date and kick-off time will be confirmed and announced in due course, leaving both teams to adjust their league and continental schedules around a gap that could fall anywhere in the coming weeks.
For Al Nassr, the delay is a frustration rather than a setback in the group, but for supporters who had planned around Monday night’s showpiece, and for a competition already wrestling with the logistics of a region in conflict, it is another reminder of how quickly events off the pitch can overtake events on it.
Read more: Cristiano Ronaldo’s suspension story at https://ntmnews.online/?p=1282 and the Ballon d’Or leak chaos at https://ntmnews.online/?p=2113.
Source credit: This report is based on reporting by Gulf News, Khaleej Times and The National News (October 25-26, 2026).