Asian Football Confederation general secretary Peter Velappan said defender Nam Song-chol, who was sent off after the melee in Wednesday's 2-0 loss to Iran, will "definitely" be sanctioned and the rest of the team could face action too.

"There will be definitely some disciplinary action for the player who was sent off and possibly the whole team for confronting the referee," Velappan told AFP.

Syrian referee Mohammed Kousa was pushed and shoved by screaming North Korean players after he rejected a handball penalty appeal in the final minutes.

The match was held up for five minutes, with the crowd hurling bottles from the stands, as Kousa retreated from the pack of players before finally restoring order and sending off Nam.

Kousa and the two assistant referees were then trapped on the pitch for more than 20 minutes after the game as tens of thousands of spectators remained in the Kim Il-Sung stadium, hurling bottles and chairs.

Thousands of angry fans later gathered outside the stadium, preventing the Iranian team from leaving, before eventually being dispersed by hundreds of police.

However, Velappan said security arrangements were "reasonable" for the game.

"The security was reasonable apart from the players' discipline," he said, adding that the AFC was waiting to see the match officials' reports before deciding whether to take any further action.

"We are waiting for the match commissioner's and referee's report. This matter will naturally go to FIFA for action."

The incident has heightened security fears for the visit to Pyongyang of arch-rivals Japan in June.