Scathing criticism of Saudi Arabia star: "a cold player"

Attack despite reaching the final

Saudi Arabia reached the final of the Arabian Gulf Cup, "Gulf 27", yet one of their stars walked away buried under a barrage of criticism after the win over Qatar.

The Saudis saw off their Qatari rivals 3-2 on penalties following a goalless draw in regular time.

Hassan Tambakti, the Saudi defender, bore the brunt of the fury after missing his spot-kick against Qatar.

Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Mohammed Kanno and Mukhtar Ali all converted for Saudi Arabia. Tambakti and Firas Al-Buraikan missed theirs.

For Qatar, Edmilson and Al-Jarahi found the net, but Almoez Ali, Jassem Jaber and Khoukhi Boualem all failed from the spot. That handed Saudi Arabia their place in the final, where they meet the UAE next Tuesday.

Hesitating before he struck it, Tambakti failed to fool the Qatar goalkeeper, who saved with ease.

Sports journalist Imad Al-Salmi, speaking on the Rotana Sport programme with Walid, said Tambakti dealt with the moment with excessive calm, describing him as a "cold" player who understands coolness in execution the wrong way. The player was required to shoulder more responsibility, he stressed, and he slammed the way the ball was struck as poor.

Journalist Mohammed Al-Anzi felt Tambakti's method of taking penalties is nothing new, pointing out that he had scored the same way before. The execution against Qatar fell short, though, and Al-Anzi insisted such decisive moments demand a greater degree of seriousness and power.

Mohammed Al-Sheikh went further still. The journalist questioned why Tambakti was handed the penalty in the first place, arguing that the way he stood and his slow movement before shooting left him exposed in front of the goalkeeper. Tambakti, he reckoned, is not among those who specialise in taking penalties.