PYONGYANG, North Korea -- Iran overpowered North Korea 2-0 on Wednesday in a spiteful Asian World Cup qualifier that saw the match officials marooned on the pitch for 20 minutes after the final whistle.
Referee Mohammed Kousa had refused to award the Koreans a late penalty and was surrounded by angry players while fans threw bottles and other missiles.
Police lined the pitch as tens of thousands of fans remained behind after the match and objects were also thrown at Iran players who were forced to stay on the field for 10 minutes.
Iran were then delayed from leaving the stadium by a mob outside as the crowd of 70,000 at Kim Il-Sung stadium in Pyongyang reacted furiously to the loss.
"We felt our lives were not safe," said Iran coach Branko Ivankovic. "I'm very sad. We tried to get on the bus after the game but it was not possible -- it was a very dangerous situation."
The referee and his assistants had finally sprinted off the pitch as more bottles, rocks and chairs were thrown in their direction.
A first-half goal credited to Mehdi Mahdavikia gave Iran the lead and Javad Neokonam capitalised on some brilliant build-up to score from close range in the 79th minute.
The North Koreans, frustrated throughout, were furious at not getting a handball verdict in the dying minutes.
The match was held up for more than five minutes as Kousa retreated from the angry pack of players and bottles were thrown onto the athletics track surrounding the pitch.
Match officials were forced onto the pitch to help Kousa, who finally restored order and handed a red card to North Korean defender Nam Song-Chol.
Iran have now reached the half-way mark of the qualifying round on seven points. and are in prime position for a place in the World Cup finals -- with the top two in the group going through.
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