Watch Sunderland stars fight Al-Shabab in Dubai FRIENDLY… and co-owners have to run onto the pitch to calm players down

The SUNDERLAND stars were mired in an ugly bankruptcy in Dubai when their friendly with Al-Shabab went awry.

The championship club used the World Cup break to travel to the Middle East themselves for a warm-weather training camp.

2

2

As part of the trip, Tony Mowbray’s side took on the Saudi Arabian side to gain match practice.

Sunderland took the lead through Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo.

However, with just over ten minutes remaining, things started to get awkward as tempers boiled over.

And Juan Sartori, co-owner of the Northeast team, even landed on the pitch to restore order.

The Sunderland Echo claim a series of naughty challenges had caused anger to mount in the first half – particularly when the goalscorer was brought down “by a horrible scissors punch” after half an hour.

Then Black Cats forward Ellis Simms was cautioned as he clashed with an Al Shabab man and was involved in a shove match.

Mowbray made extensive substitutions at the break, but the change in personnel did not bring any reassurance when Lynden Gooch clashed with an opponent just minutes after the restart.

Then came the explosive moment just 13 minutes from time when both groups of players began to battle after a tackle from Sunderland’s Dennis Cirkin, which saw the referee award a free-kick in the opposite direction.

FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS – THE BEST DEALS FOR NEW CUSTOMERS

Gooch confronted the officer to dispute the decision, but he was soon hit by an Al Shabab player, resulting in a major scuffle.

Mowbray’s coaching staff stormed onto the pitch along with Sartori when it looked like the game was going to be abandoned.

But order was eventually restored when both Gooch and his opponent were sent off while the referee kept his red card in his pocket.

Sunderland continue their championship season when they host Millwall at the Stadium of Light on December 3.