Iranian club Sepahan have shown the sporting side of Asian football after they deliberately gently passed a penalty to the Al Nasr goalkeeper having won a controversial spotkick moments after their opponents put the ball out of play following an injury.
The incident happened in Tuesday's AFC Champions League (ACL) clash which Sepahan won 3-0 over Al Nasr in Dubai, with the controversy occurring shortly after the break with the visitors leading 1-0.
The sporting gesture from Sepahan was in contrast to that which caused chaotic scenes and an all-in brawl at last year's ACL semi-final between Al Sadd and Suwon Bluewings in South Korea.
Al Nasr had put the ball out of play on 49 minutes in order to allow defender Helal Saeed receive treatment. Upon the resumption of play, Sepahan attempted to give their opponents the ball back, but Al Nasr hesitated to pick up the loose ball, with Xhevahir Sukaj swooping only to be brought down by keeper Abdulla Moosa Ali.
The incident caused a lengthy delay and much controversy as the goalkeeper was given a red card by the Bahraini referee Nawaf Shukralla.
However, Sepahan sportingly decided to deliberately pass the ball to replacement keeper Abdulla Abdulghafoor with Omid Ebrahimi doing the deed in an act of fair play.
Unfortunately for Al Nasr, their numerical disadvantage would remain and Sepahan added two more goals after the incident to seal the victory.