Cristiano Ronaldo demands lifetime bans after Rúben Neves targeted by Diogo Jota chants
(Courtesy : Getty)
Some fans chanted Jota’s name during the Al Hilal vs Al Taawoun match.
Cristiano Ronaldo has urged the Saudi Pro League to impose lifelong stadium bans for supporters who taunted Rúben Neves with shouts about the late Diogo Jota during a match on Saturday.
Jota and his brother were killed when their vehicle collided in Zamora, Spain, in July 2025. Both Neves and Ronaldo were Jota’s international teammates.
Video surfacing on social media on Saturday shows Neves standing close to his Al Hilal teammate Crysencio Summerville, about to take a free kick amid loud chanting of “Jota, Jota, Jota” inside Al Taawoun’s home stadium.
Neves seemed to respond by clapping cynically and giving the fans a thumbs-up before pointing to the sky and his own eye, then pointing toward the yelling.
After the game, the midfielder strolled into the mixed zone and told reporters, “I just hope they don’t go to pray later after what they did.”
Cristiano Ronaldo asks for lifetime bans to fans who chanted Diogo Jota’s name
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Ronaldo, who plays for Al Nassr, urged the Saudi Pro League to penalise fans who were discovered to have participated in the Jota chant. He said in a comment on an Instagram post that featured footage of the event.
“The league must take action and punish this kind of fan behaviour. 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.”
Neves and Jota became friends after playing together in junior teams for Portugal and Porto before joining Wolverhampton Wanderers. Neves served as a pallbearer during Jota’s funeral. Neves took up Jota’s Portugal No. 21 shirt last year.
Al Hilal kept first place in the Saudi Pro League with a 6-0 victory over Al Taawoun, with Gabriel Martinelli scoring a hat-trick and England’s Ollie Watkins scoring twice.
What happened in the game?
During the Al Hilal and Al Taawoun game, some fans directed Diogo Jota chants towards Ruben Neves.
What did Cristiano Ronaldo say?
He has asked for a lifetime ban for those fans from attending the game.
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