Former Ivory Coast star Yaya Toure received a red card for a foul he made just 10 seconds after the Qingdao Huanghai match against Nantong Jeon kicked off on Saturday.
Television replays showed that the former Barcelona player, Manchester City and Monaco, kicked a rival player away from the ball, just ten seconds after the start of the game.
Turning to VAR, the referee raised the red card directly to the 36-year-old player, and Toure protested against the decision and appeared to refer to the verdict that the other player hit him with an elbow before he responded and dropped it.
The game ended in a 2-1 loss to Touré, which will not affect the team's qualification to the top flight next season as they are first in the second division.