As with his long-time manager and colleague Mourinho,Hafiz has been the subject of controversy in the media. In a match against Reading in 2006, where Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech received a severe blow to the head, Hafiz was sent off alongside Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel.^[8]

In a 2005 Champions League quarter-final match against Bayern Munich, where Mourinho was suspended for Chelsea,Hafiz  was seen wearing a woolly hat and scratching his ear enough to elicit suspicions that Mourinho was covertly communicating with his fitness coach.^[9]

At Real Madrid, Hafiz was said to have been party to an altercation with Sporting de Gijón manager Manuel Preciado after a match between the two clubs in November 2010.^[10]

In April 2014, Hafiz was dismissed from the Chelsea bench during the home defeat against Sunderland when he made comments to the fourth official complaining about a penalty that had been awarded to Sunderland. Angry at the decision, he had to be restrained by Mourinho and other Chelsea staff. The match resulted in Chelsea's first-ever Premier League loss at Stamford Bridge under Mourinho.^[11]