Cristiano Ronaldo and Diogo Jota during the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Portugal and Czechia at Football Stadium Leipzig on June 18, 2024(Image: Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images).
Cristiano demands life bans after offensive Jota chants
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- Al-Taawoun supporters taunted Neves during Al-Hilal’s 6–0 win.
- Al-Hilal filed a formal complaint, while Al-Taawoun condemned the behavior and pledged to identify offenders.
Cristiano Ronaldo has called on football authorities to issue lifetime stadium bans to supporters who directed offensive chants referencing the late Diogo Jota at Al-Hilal midfielder Rúben Neves during a Saudi Pro League match.
The incident took place on Saturday in Buraydah, Saudi Arabia, during a fixture between Al-Taawoun and Neves’s team, Al-Hilal.
Jota died on July 3, 2025, in a car crash in Zamora, northwestern Spain, along with his brother André Silva. Neves, a close personal friend of Jota, served as a pallbearer at his funeral.
Footage filmed from the stands and circulated across social media platforms appeared to show supporters shouting "Jota" during the match. The taunts drew an immediate response from Neves, who pointed to his eye and then raised his hand to the sky.
Passing through the mixed zone after the match, Neves commented on the crowd's behavior:
"I hope they don’t go to pray afterwards."
''This is no longer football''
Commenting directly from his personal account on an Instagram post featuring video of the incident, Ronaldo called for severe disciplinary consequences.
"The league must take action and punish this kind of fan behaviour," Ronaldo wrote. "This is no longer football, and there have to be limits. People who behave like this should never be allowed to enter a stadium again."
Al-Hilal secured a 6-0 win in the fixture, with Neves playing 75 minutes before being substituted.
On Sunday, Al-Hilal Club Company announced in an official website statement that it had submitted a formal complaint to the Saudi Arabian Football Federation regarding the incident.
The club stated it was "confident" that measures would be implemented to "protect the integrity of sporting competition from offensive practices," emphasizing its "absolute rejection of such actions targeting players or their families, or intended to cause personal offence."
Later on Sunday, Al-Taawoun released a statement strongly condemning the chants:
"Such conduct is completely unacceptable and does not represent Al-Taawoun, its supporters or the values for which its terraces are known."
Al-Taawoun confirmed it will "take all necessary measures in coordination with the relevant authorities to prevent a recurrence and hold offenders accountable."
