The head of Scotland’s referees union has called on Saudi Arabian football chiefs to punish a player who head-butted SPFL official John Beaton.
The Motherwell-born whistler took charge of the powder-keg Riyadh derby between Al Hilal and Al Nasr on Sunday after a request from the Saudi Football Association to its Scottish counterpart.
Hampden bosses sent Beaton and assistant referees Stuart Stevenson and Douglas Ross but they found themselves in the midst of an explosive clash.
Beaton produced eight yellow cards and sent-off three players as Al Nasr claimed a 1-0 win.
The third dismissal came deep into stoppage-time at the King Fahd Stadium when 23-year-old Al Hilal midfielder Salem Al Dawsari reacted angrily to a foul being given against him.
After squaring up to Beaton, he then thrust his head towards the Scotsman’s — earning an instant red card.
Al Dawsari had to be led away by his teammates as he tried to lunge at the ref after the final whistle.
STV has reported the official — who recently took charge of the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final between Falkirk and Hibernian — was given extra security as he left the Saudi capital for the UK.
But James Bee, chairman of the Scottish Senior Football Referees Association, says Saudi chiefs must make an example of Al Dawsari by throwing the book at him.
In a statement given to Press Association Sport, Bee said: “This type of behaviour is unacceptable in any country and no referee should be treated in this way.
“Assaults or attempted assaults on match officials should be met with zero tolerance. John Beaton dealt with the incident correctly on the field of play and the appropriate authorities should deal with the matter correctly off it.
“The most important thing for us though is that, thankfully, John does not appear to have been physically harmed in the incident.”
Speaking to STV after arriving back at Glasgow Airport, Beaton said: “I can’t really comment on it just now. Obviously the Saudi federation will be dealing with it, so I’ll just let them deal with what they need to deal with.
“If you’ve seen the pictures, you’ve seen exactly what happened. It was an experience, it was an experience.
“I’m back, I’m back safe and I can have no complaints about how the Saudis treated us after the game and made sure we were safe.”
Asked if it was something he would care to experience again, he replied: “Well obviously not. It’s not a great experience. But listen, it was what it was. It’s refereeing.”
Watch the incident here:
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