The AFC Champions League Elite match between Al Hilal and visiting Al Gharafa was halted after violent clashes between players from both teams during the first round of the competition.
In the 32nd minute, a confrontation broke out between Crisencio Samervil of Al Hilal and Ismail Ben Nasser, who was making his first appearance for Al Gharafa.
The incident began when Samervil grabbed Abdulrahman Al Rashidi of Al Gharafa by the shirt and pushed him forcefully, causing him to fall outside the pitch. As other players intervened, Ben Nasser stepped in and pulled the Al Hilal player by the head, triggering violent clashes between the players.
The referee issued a straight red card to Samervil, and after the situation calmed, he showed a similar red card to Ben Nasser.
Emirati referee Omar Al Ali waited for the video assistant referee (VAR) to confirm both dismissals and to review whether other players were involved in these unfortunate events.
The exits of Samervil and Ben Nasser from the field were delayed before they left and the match resumed.