Saleh Abu Al-Shamat raised eyebrows when he came off during Saudi Arabia's Gulf Cup 27 opener against Kuwait. The Saudi international left the pitch showing surprise, anger and sadness, a scene that dragged the charged mood surrounding the tournament back into focus.
Georgios Donis pulled Abu Al-Shamat off in the 63rd minute. The player trudged off visibly unhappy with the call, then sat furious on the substitutes' bench, where teammate Hassan Tambakti tried to console him.
Nobody missed it. Abu Al-Shamat has been one of the names catching the technical staff's eye lately, and he was left out of the last World Cup squad, so any emotional flare-up from him invites scrutiny, especially given how much the national team values discipline within the group.
Will the Musab Al-Juwair scenario be repeated?
His situation grows more delicate under the strict disciplinary policy enforced by team manager Fahd Al-Mufarrij. Discipline had already become one of the biggest talking points inside the Saudi camp before the Gulf Cup 27 kicked off.
Musab Al-Juwair paid the price. Dropped from the tournament squad over a disciplinary breach, his exclusion proved the administrative staff won't go soft on transgressions inside the camp. That raises the obvious question of how they'll handle Abu Al-Shamat if they judge his behaviour to have crossed the line.
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Nothing so far suggests Abu Al-Shamat faces any punishment or exclusion from the next match. The anger he showed after being hooked doesn't necessarily point to a disciplinary breach. It may simply be a natural reaction to the decision and his desire to stay on the pitch.
The question stays open. Will it end there, as a flash of anger on the pitch, or will the administrative staff treat Abu Al-Shamat's conduct as a fresh disciplinary case? The answer may arrive with the next squad, and with it, whether he carries on featuring for Saudi Arabia as normal or finds himself hit with a new decision from the technical and administrative staff.
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