Article by Aurelian Botezatu – Published on Sunday, 01 March 2026, 12:15 / Updated on Sunday, 01 March 2026 12:15
Former Scottish international Graeme Souness (72) was surprised by Iran's attacks at the airport in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi.
Souness shared selfies from the airport on social media, as well as photos of the plane he was due to board to return home. His flight has been suspended, so he will remain in the Gulf for a few more days until the alert is lifted.
Iran retaliated massively after being attacked by Israel on Saturday morning, bombing US military bases in the Gulf states. Souness has been in the UAE for three-and-a-half weeks and is now among the thousands of stranded tourists and expats.
Graeme Souness, “frontline reporter” in Abu Dhabi
In a video post on Instagram, Souness reported as a war journalist: “Currently in the Middle East at Abu Dhabi airport, I will give you a brief overview of what is happening here.”
Graeme Souness at Abu Dhabi Airport / Photo: capture
The former Scotland international then turned his sights on the plane waiting on the tarmac and said: “This is the plane I should be getting back to the UK. When I was little, my mother told me to be patient, that «wherever you are, there is never a dull moment»“.
Graeme Souness: 'I can say I was lucky compared to others caught in the crossfire'
Perfectly true! “I'm at this airport and we hear some pretty loud bangs, namely explosions of missiles being launched on an American base.
I can say that I was lucky compared to others caught in the crossfire between the United States and Israel on the one hand and Iran on the other. The chaos continues. The flight has been cancelled, there are still explosives, so we give up.
The plane on which Graeme Souness was supposed to return home was blocked on the ground by the authorities / Photo: capture
We're going to stay at a hotel for a few nights and then see how we get on, how the situation unfolds. We hope that the situation will calm down and we will return to the plane to leave”.
Dinamo have unpleasant memories of Graeme Souness
Souness played for Liverpool in the 1970s and 1980s and played against Dinamo in the “double” in the semi-finals of the European Champions Cup, now the Champions League, played in April 1984.
In the first leg, on “Anfield Road”, the former Scottish international broke the jaw of Dynamo player Lică Movilă and escaped unpunished by the referee. He was also involved in the game's only goal, providing the decisive assist to scorer Ian Rush. Liverpool also won the second leg on “August 23”, 2-1, and qualified for the final of the competition.
