Josh Griffin & Kevin Brown got sent off after this incident
Salford secured their Super League place for next season with a 24-10 victory at Widnes to leapfrog the Vikings into second place in the Super 8s Qualifiers.
The Red Devils led 18-4 at half-time with tries from Josh Griffin, Scott Taylor and Cory Paterson.
Junior Sa'u extended the lead after the break although both sides finished with 12 men after Widnes skipper Kevin Brown and Salford winger Griffin were sent off following a punch-up.
Salford were strengthened by the return of centre Sa'u and forward Paterson, who missed the 53-34 win over Sheffield, but Rangi Chase was still absent for disciplinary reasons.
Widnes, who should also be safe from relegation from the top-flight despite the defeat thanks to their vastly superior scoring difference over Wakefield and Bradford, were without Danny Galea and long-term absentees Willie Isa, Macgraff Leuluai, Stefan Marsh and Eamonn O'Carroll but had Danny Craven back on the bench.
The Vikings, who edged out Salford 21-20 in the last match of the regular season, went into the game in confident mood after five wins in their last six games.
But the visitors made a flying start, with Niall Evalds bursting through before Sa'u brushed off Joe Mellor and put Griffin over in the corner after only two minutes. Michael Dobson missed the conversion but struck a penalty after he was felled by Alex Gerrard's late tackle.
It was a bright start by Salford but Widnes hit back, Rhys Hanbury's break and overhead pass allowing Patrick Ah Van to charge through Ben Jones-Bishop's tackle. Danny Tickle missed the touchline conversion.
Matt Whitley then had a try disallowed after Ah Van collected Kevin Brown's high kick as the Vikings piled on the pressure.
But the Red Devils were indebted to a mistake by Lloyd White at the base of the scrum which led to Scott Taylor ploughing over from dummy half after Logan Tomkins was held short to make it 12-4.
Whitley conceded a penalty for a professional foul on Tomkins and Salford took advantage, substitute Paterson blasting under the posts from Tommy Lee's pass to stretch the advantage to 18-4.
Chris Clarkson was injured trying to stop Paterson's charge and was forced to quit in a daze before Chris Dean was also substituted after a heavy tackle. Dobson's kicking was proving crucial for Salford, who made fewer mistakes than Widnes to dominate the first half.
But the Red Devils finished the half with 12 men after Liam Hood was sin-binned three minutes before the break for a high tackle on Brown, who went off for treatment.
Brown resumed for Widnes at the start of the second half but their task became even tougher when Sa'u blasted over three minutes after the restart.
Craven was injured in the build-up and was also helped off to add to coach Denis Betts' problems. Griffin denied Ah Van a second try by bundling the powerhouse winger into touch.
Widnes produced their best rugby of a disappointing afternoon but still could not find a way through Salford's solid defence.
They had another chance when Hansen became the second Salford player sin-binned after 58 minutes for a tackle on Hanbury and they took advantage of the extra man for Brown to send White over and cut the gap to 24-10.
Lama Tasi should have added a fifth Salford try but lost the ball over the line after a strong burst past Hanbury, and the afternoon then finished on a low note as Griffin and Brown saw red.
