A fiery punishment: Al-Hilal shock Somerville and dock half his salary!

"The Leader" bares its fangs

Al-Hilal have come down hard on Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville, docking half his monthly salary over the crisis he sparked last month.

The Asian Football Confederation handed Summerville a three-match ban and a 2,000 dollar fine on Thursday, punishment for the straight red card he picked up for misconduct against Qatar's Al-Gharafa in the AFC Champions League Elite.

Saudi journalist Abdulrahman Abaoud revealed that Al-Hilal would trigger their internal regulations against Summerville, slicing half his monthly wage in response to the sanction from the Asian Football Confederation.

In earlier remarks, Abaoud confirmed that "the Leader" was waiting on the referee's report from the Al-Gharafa match, along with the Asian Football Confederation's decision, to gauge just how far the Dutch winger was to blame for his dismissal.

Al-Hilal had seen off Al-Gharafa 2-1 in the middle of last month at Kingdom Arena, in the opening round of the league phase of the AFC Champions League Elite.

Summerville saw red in the 33rd minute of that game after an altercation with Al-Gharafa's Algerian midfielder Ismael Bennacer, who was also sent off.

According to the Saudi journalist, Al-Hilal dished out an identical punishment to Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly two years ago, after his dismissal in the King's Cup final against Al-Nassr.

Summerville will now sit out until the midway point of Al-Hilal's league phase campaign in the Asian tournament. He misses the clashes with Qatar's Al-Sadd and Al-Shamal, as well as the UAE's Shabab Al-Ahli.

Third place in the West group is where Al-Hilal sit, level on 3 points but behind the UAE's Al-Ain and Iran's Esteghlal of Tehran on goal difference.