Sampdoria’s Sabiri Subbed Early, Faces Fan Backlash Amid Transfer Uncertainty

A few months before the end of his contract at Sampdoria, is Sabiri now unwanted? In any case, his premature exit from the match and under the insults of the supporters says a lot. Yet two weeks ago, he had been congratulated for his performances against Bologna. But on Sunday, Sabiri was presented as the weak link that was dragging the team down, reports Football-Italia.

Dejan Stankovic, the club’s coach, told DAZN that he was not satisfied with the first 20 minutes of the match, which ended in a 0-0 draw. When questioned during the post-match press conference about Abdelhamid Sabiri’s substitution, he said irritably that "Sabiri is part of a squad of 25 players. Why don’t we talk about Winks or Rincon who had good performances? About Zanoli or Amione, who were monumental? Why make a controversy out of it? After the third or fourth question, it becomes a controversy."

Stankovic explained that his act was not personal and that he was giving the team a chance to change the outcome of the match. "At one point, I could have made three substitutions, but I didn’t want to put the team in difficulty. I didn’t like that, I changed things to keep the level and not put the team in difficulty."