The video caught the shocking moment in a game between Sepahan FC from Iran and Al Ahli from Saudi Arabia. Play was stopped due to items being thrown on the field and Sepahan midfielder Adel Kolahkaj picked up an object tossed near him.
He casually discarded it and then it suddenly exploded, triggering a plume of smoke. If Kolahkaj had tossed the grenade a few seconds later, his hand (among other body parts) would have suffered crippling consequences.
The match was quickly abandoned and police are now investigating the case. No one was hurt in the incident.
An Iranian on reddit claims he saw this kind of attack before, writing: “Many years ago fans used this handmade grande to through it near to the field when 2 famous Iranian football club ( Esteghlal _ Perspolise) were playing against each other.”
As Metro writes, “The incident came shortly after the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency expressed concern that Iran had continued to defy directives over uranium enrichment and nuclear weapons development.”
