He played for only 32 minutes against Groningen, after a display which lacked creativity.[22] He said afterwards he was tired and was carrying a slight injury during the match, but Koeman criticised Mido saying he was not giving everything.[23] He revealed in September 2002 that he wanted to leave Ajax in the transfer window in late December.[24] However, Mido soon apologised to Koeman and Leo Beenhakker regarding the transfer comments,[25] saying he was "irresponsible" and "unthoughtful". He was handed a fine and suspended from Ajax's game against Olympique Lyonnais.[26] In December of that year, he revealed that he wanted to stay at Ajax.[27] He scored for Ajax during their 6–0 defeat of Willem II in February 2003,[28] but Koeman again criticised Mido, commenting negatively on his performance against Roda in the KNVB Cup.[29] He was dropped for Ajax's next game against Feyenoord, only featuring as an unused substitute.[30] He suffered a muscle strain in his upper thigh after a friendly for Egypt, and was ruled out of Ajax's game against Groningen.[31] Mido was relegated to the Ajax reserve team for disciplinary reasons,[32] surrounding a perceived lack of effort in training.[33] His situation at the club led to interest from Serie A clubs Juventus and Lazio and he later admitted to have thrown a pair of scissors at Ajax teammate Zlatan Ibrahimović following an argument in March 2003.[34][35][36]