SAUDI ARABIA international Salem Al Dawsari is set to be handed a six-month ban and a £5,000 fine from his FA for headbutting Scottish referee John Beaton.
The official was stunned when he was assaulted by the 20-times capped Al Dawsari during the Riyadh derby between Al Hilal and Al Nasr.
Beaton took charge of the explosive encounter along with fellow Scots Stuart Stevenson and Douglas Ross.
He sent off three players as Al Nasr claimed a 1-0 win, with the last red card shown to Al Hilal midfielder Al Dawsari, who reacted angrily to a foul being given against him by appearing to motion his head in Beaton's direction.
The Saudi Football Federation will meet this week and reports in the Middle East suggest that his punishment will be a six-month ban from football.
Article 48 of the Saudi FA disciplinary rules state: "If a player is guilty of infringement of the match official, a ban of six months and a fine of 30,000 Saudi Arabian Riyal will be the punishment."
Al Dawsari, 23, is regarded as one of Saudi's best young talents and has been tipped for a move to Europe.
However, the president of Al Hilal has refused to condemn his own player and instead slaughtered Beaton's display.
Mohammad Al-Homaidani said: "Enough is enough. We just want fair play and we did not get it with this referee.
"When the ref clearly favours one team over the other, it is obviously not fair."
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