TOKYO, March 3: North Korea could face disciplinary charges after a furious row with the referee sparked crowd violence at a World Cup qualifier, an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) official said on Thursday.

AFC general secretary Peter Velappan condemned the trouble during North Korea’s 2-0 defeat by Iran in Pyongyang on Wednesday and asked world governing body FIFA to take action.

North Korean soldiers and police were forced to step in to restore order after defender Nam Song-chol was sent off for shoving Syrian referee Mohamed Kousa after he had turned down a penalty appeal.

Several North Korean players tried to grab Kousa and the match was held up for five minutes after angry fans hurled bottles onto the pitch at Kim Il-sung Stadium.—Reuters