How sporting events are being impacted by Middle East conflict

The Saudi Pro League has, for the most part, managed to carry on as usual.

Several ​domestic ⁠league games had to be postponed, including three fixtures last month as the situation escalated.

The games were moved in the immediate aftermath of the attack on a major airport in Riyadh – though the SPL said they were switched “as a result of mandatory minimum rest periods between matches and to accommodate logistical requirements”.

Following the postponement of the Asian Cup, this weekend’s full round of Saudi Pro League has been called off.

The league once again has not attributed this to conflict in the region, instead saying the calendar would be recalibrated after the cancellation of the Asian Cup to achieve “a more balanced distribution of fixtures”.

The AFC Champions League has been affected as well.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Kingsley Coman were among Al-Nassr’s star players who did not to fly to Uzbekistan this week “given the pressure of matches and the amount of travel involved”.

Al-Wasl of the United Arab Emirates also opted not to fly to Saudi Arabia to play Al-Nassr, and the match will be rearranged.

Meanwhile, the wife of Ollie Watkins, who plays for Riyadh-based Al-Hilal, posted on TikTok that she would be staying in the UK with their two children “until it calms down”.

“We’ve had a bit of a plot twist,” said Ellie Watkins. “I have come back to the UK for a little bit.

“There’s just a little bit of conflict and things going on over in Saudi and we basically decided just to stay here.

“I felt like I needed to do that for the kids so there is some form of normality until we can get back out there and all be 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.