Hair-pull incident sparks debate as Al Hilal suffer Asian Champions League Elite defeat

Al Hilal’s 3-1 defeat by Al Shamal in the AFC Champions League Elite was overshadowed by a disputed incident involving a possible red card for the Qatari side.

The Saudi club’s players appealed for Nassim Ben Aissa to be sent off early in the second half after they claimed he pulled the hair of Al Hilal’s French forward Simon Buabre in the centre of the pitch.

However, the referee rejected the appeal during Tuesday’s match at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, where Al Shamal secured a 3-1 victory in the third round of the league phase.

Egyptian refereeing expert Mohamed Kamal Risha supported the official’s decision, saying Ben Aissa’s actions did not meet the threshold for a dismissal.

“In the incident involving Nassim Ben Aissa, the Al Shamal player initially held Simon Buabre’s shirt before his hand reached the end of Buabre’s hair,” Risha told Saudi newspaper Al Riyadiyah.

“The hair was pulled lightly at the end of the contact. It had no significant effect and there was no force involved.”

Risha said the referee could nevertheless have taken disciplinary action for the shirt-pull.

“The referee should be criticised for failing to give the Al Shamal player a deserved yellow card for the holding,” he added. “But the offence did not warrant a red card.”

The decision drew attention because Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior was sent off for a similar offence during his side’s meeting with Villarreal in the eighth round of La Liga.

In that case, the Brazilian was dismissed after an incident involving an opponent’s hair. The comparison led to questions over whether Ben Aissa had avoided the same punishment against Al Hilal.

Al Hilal’s loss to Al Shamal leaves the Saudi club beaten in the latest round of the AFC Champions League Elite, while the main talking point from the match remained the referee’s handling of the contact between Ben Aissa and Buabre.