An apparent light slap has earned Colombia forward Jhon Duran a straight red card in just his fourth match for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.

Duran was signed in January from Aston Villa for a reported STG64 million pounds ($A127 million) and scored four goals in his first two league appearances.

But on Friday in stoppage time, while play seemed to have stopped, he appeared to give a glancing slap to the back of the head of Ettifaq midfielder Abdulelah Al-Malki. Al-Malki dropped and rolled on the ground.

The referee issued a red card despite the protests of teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.

Al-Nassr lost to Ettifaq 3-2, ending a seven-game unbeaten streak, and leaving the team eight points behind leaders Al-Ittihad, who have a game in hand.