Cristiano Ronaldo pulled a green and white scarf across his shoulders at the final whistle and held it in place for the Al-Awwal Park crowd. Hours earlier, Saudi air defences had intercepted missiles over Riyadh, and kick-off against Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fergana had been pushed back an hour.
Al-Nassr’s official account later shared a line attributed to the forward.
“I am Portuguese, but I belong to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Alongside a photograph of the scarf, the club added a second message.
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“A piece of Saudi, carried close to the heart.”
The 41-year-old had already contributed on the pitch. His 42nd-minute strike put Al-Nassr 2-0 up on the night and took his career tally to 981 goals, following Ângelo Gabriel’s opener in the 33rd.
3-1 win sealed after Fergana pulled one back
Alisher Odilov halved the deficit for Neftchi Fergana in the 51st minute. An own goal from Anvarjon Gofurov in the 78th settled the match at 3-1 and gave Al-Nassr their first win of this AFC Champions League Elite campaign.
Kick-off had been held back by one hour as a security precaution. The Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by Houthi forces, with three explosions heard across Riyadh before the game.
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13 dead at King Khalid airport over the weekend
The missile that forced the delay came at the end of a brutal week for the Saudi capital. Houthi fighters hit King Khalid International Airport on Saturday 10 October, killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 300, according to Saudi authorities. India’s embassy in Saudi Arabia later confirmed a 13th death from injuries sustained in that strike.
The dead included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis and one person each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. The Saudi-led coalition called the attack a “full-fledged war crime” and vowed a “decisive” response. A further projectile struck the airport on Sunday, killing a Pakistani resident and injuring 11.
19 short of 1,000
Ronaldo signed for Al-Nassr at the start of 2023 and has repeatedly spoken of his attachment to Saudi Arabia. The scarf gesture on Monday night was broadcast on Al-Nassr’s channels within minutes of the final whistle.
He is now 19 goals short of 1,000 for his career.
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