James Anderson was forced out of the England attack on day three at Edgbaston after running on the pitch for the third time.
The seamer was warned twice on day two for treading on the surface and was pulled from action a day later after committing the offence for a third time with Pakistan on 368-8 - the tourists would go on to make 400.
Anderson's heel entered 'the red zone' as he bowled the first ball of his 30th over to Sarfraz Ahmed and he was promptly prevented from bowling for the remainder of Pakistan's first innings - a fate that also befell him during a Test match against South Africa in Johannesburg over the winter.
Michael Holding was on commentary for the incident and felt the England man could count himself unfortunate to have been penalised by umpires Bruce Oxenford and Joel Wilson.
"Mercy, I don't think that was more than an inch of his boot," he said. "That's very, very harsh - they have gone from allowing everything to allowing absolutely nothing."
Speaking later on in the Sky Sports studio, Holding added: "The umpires should take into consideration what is happening to the surface, not just that the man is touching the surface with his boot.
"Is he really disturbing the surface? Is he doing damage to it? If he isn't, then I don't think a bowler should be taken off for just touching that area."
Anderson, meanwhile, is likely to escape further punishment for his self-described 'out of order' exchanges with Oxenford and Wilson while receiving his first two warnings on Thursday.
The 34-year-old subsequently apologised to the officials, and it is understood no report was made to match referee, Richie Richardson, the before start of play on Friday - the cut-off point for a disciplinary process to begin.
Watch continued coverage of the third Investec Test between England and Pakistan live on Sky Sports 2 or watch with a NOW TV Day Pass for £6.99