The final minutes of the clasico between Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad descended into chaos. A crisis erupted between Al-Ittihad's players and match referee Khalid Al-Turais after the final whistle on Saturday evening, in the eighth round of the Saudi Roshn League, which Al-Hilal won 3-2.
The result lifted Al-Hilal to 21 points at the top of the table, while Al-Ittihad froze on 17 in second, suffering their first league defeat of the season. But the result soon took a back seat. A number of Al-Ittihad players launched into furious protests at the officiating crew.
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It began in the final seconds. Al-Hilal defender Ali Lajami dawdled over a throw-in, and Al-Ittihad's players objected, convinced the time allowed to resume play had run out. Morocco's Youssef En-Nesyri confronted the assistant referee as his team-mates rounded on on-field official Khalid Al-Turais.
Rather than hand the throw-in to Al-Hilal, Al-Turais blew for full time. That only stoked the anger. Al-Ittihad's players surrounded him, demanding answers over the closing moments in a charged atmosphere following their clasico defeat.
Things boiled over when Al-Ittihad goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic squared up to Al-Turais and looked to go for him, before security men stepped in to calm the tension and escort the referee off the pitch. The scene left plenty of questions over what the players' actions might cost them.
The relevant authorities are expected to review those closing events, drawing on the referee's report and the official match reports, with disciplinary sanctions possible for those involved in the altercation. Al-Ittihad's defeat, then, did not stop at three dropped points. It has sparked a fresh crisis that may dominate the Saudi sporting scene in the days ahead.