Graeme Souness was planning to be home in time for the Old Firm clash between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox on Sunday, but he’s now stuck in Abu Dhabi International Airport
21:19, 28 Feb 2026Updated 21:19, 28 Feb 2026
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Graeme Souness has revealed that he’s trapped in Abu Dhabi following strikes on Middle Eastern countries by Iran. Liverpool legend Souness shared a chilling update on social media while stuck at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
The 72-year-old explained how he’d heard ‘loud bangs’ overhead, as he and thousands of fellow Brits in the Middle East attempt to leave. Chaos was sparked on Saturday morning when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran.
In response, Iranian forces attacked locations such as Dubai, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait – all places with US military bases or allies of the US. Souness flew to the United Arab Emirates as recently as three weeks ago, working in his role as an ambassador for Liverpool.
The Scot now finds himself in Abu Dhabi but he’s unable to get home. Souness updated his followers on Instagram with a video in which he said: “Currently in the Middle East, in Abu Dhabi Airport, I’ll give you a quick glimpse of where I am.
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“That is my plane. That I am meant to be catching to go back to the UK. My mum said to me – bear with me – when I was a little boy, ‘wherever you are, there’s never a dull moment’.
“So I was thinking this weekend, the biggest game of the season for me, Rangers–Celtic, a game that if Rangers win, that’ll put the cat among the pigeons in a big way.
“My mum said, ‘wherever you are son, there’s never a dull moment’, well, I’m at this airport, and we’re hearing some pretty loud bangs going off, and that is anti-missiles taking out missiles that are being fired at some American base.”
Souness added: “Chaos continues. The flight’s been cancelled, still hearing explosives, so we give up. We’re just going to check into a hotel for a couple of nights and see where we are. Hopefully, this will settle down and we’ll get back on our flight.
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Graeme Souness’ flight home was cancelled(Image: Instagram/soueyofficial)
Abu Dhabi International Airport will remain closed until Sunday(Image: Instagram/soueyofficial)
“You get grumpy – well I do – when you get delayed and stuff at airports but I think we should think of people that maybe at this point might die. Anyway, I’ll keep you posted.”
The home airline in Abu Dhabi, Etihad, confirmed in a statement: “All flights scheduled to depart Abu Dhabi are suspended until 2pm UAE time (10am GMT) on Sunday 1 March. Flights scheduled to arrive into Abu Dhabi before 2pm UAE time on Sunday 1 March will be cancelled.”
US President Donald Trump says that ‘a lot’ of Iran’s leadership is gone, having targeted Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) added that it has ‘eliminated’ the Iranian regime’s defence leadership in an ‘opening salvo’ of attacks.
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