Scott McTominay had to be restrained following a furious clash with a fellow ex-Premier League star during Napoli's Italian Super Cup match against AC Milan.
Napoli won the match 2-0, with David Neres and Manchester United loanee Rasmus Hojlund scoring either side of half-time.
The Super Cup tournament is once again being held in Saudi Arabia, with Riyadh's King Saud University Stadium hosting the semi-final clash on Thursday night.
Antonio Conte's side, who are reigning Serie A champions, will face either Bologna or Inter Milan in the final.
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They will be thankful to have key talisman McTominay available for the match after an altercation was prevented from boiling over by his team-mates against Milan.
With the score at 2-0 on 82 minutes, the referee called for a foul against Milan on McTominay, who was still running with the ball.
Having overhit a touch, the Scotland international slowed into a jog after the free kick was given, with Milan and former Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori getting to the ball first.
Tomori smashed the ball in the direction of McTominay - albeit missing him - with the Napoli midfielder left furious.
McTominay ran up to Tomori and immediately confronted him, while shouting in the Milan defender's face.
Thankfully, players from both sides ran in to separate the pair before things got physical, though the altercation did spark a very brief mass brawl.
Both McTominay and Tomori escaped with a booking and the match continued with 11 players a side.
The revamped Italian Super Cup started in 2023 as a four-team tournament, with Spain's La Liga also adopting the same format for their Spanish Super Cup.
Napoli have only won the cup once in either of its guises - all the way back in 1990.
Milan defeated fierce rivals Inter 3-2 in last year's final but will now not have the chance to defend their crown.
Topics: Scott Mctominay, Napoli, Serie A, Fikayo Tomori, Football, AC Milan
Ryan Smart