Ismael Saibari had a tough evening on Saturday while playing for PSV. The attacking midfielder attracted attention not only for his performance but also for his behavior during the match against AZ.
The Moroccan international appeared visibly frustrated, frequently gesturing, which has drawn criticism from analysts who are now scrutinizing PSV’s top scorer more closely. At Studio Voetbal, Rafael van der Vaart voiced his displeasure with Saibari’s attitude.
I was extremely annoyed with Saibari. I think he’s an excellent player, but his behavior… Wim Kieft would say: ‘He’s starting to believe it,’ but Saibari really thinks he’s the best of all time at PSV. That’s a complete misconception. He’s talented, but he shouldn’t be making all those gestures.”
Guus Hiddink agreed with Van der Vaart’s assessment. “It was a bit over the top. This, despite the fact that he’s usually a simple and likable boy.” Hiddink suggested that Saibari needs a serious conversation. “Someone has to address this with him. This behavior isn’t acceptable, and it’s also affecting his game.”
On ESPN’s program Dit was het Weekend, Kenneth Perez also expressed criticism of Saibari. “He was very average and frustrated.” The analyst turned to his colleague, Karim El Ahmadi, to ask whether Saibari’s behavior might be related to Ramadan.
“I’ve personally never experienced anything like that during Ramadan. But this behavior from Saibari is unusual. It seemed to come mainly from petty clashes,” the former Feyenoord player explained.
Could it have been Wouter Goes’ actions that provoked him so intensely? “Surely, Goes can’t get under your skin that much, can he?” Perez wondered aloud.
“Ask Sergio Ramos about it. We aren’t accustomed to that, but he’s a different kind of defender altogether. And surely, as Saibari, you can’t allow yourself to behave that way, can you?”