Rúben Neves clapped slowly, pointed to his eye and then to the sky. The taunt from the Al-Taawoun stands behind him was a chant of “Jota, Jota, Jota”, aimed at the Al-Hilal midfielder as he stood over a free kick during Saturday’s Saudi Pro League fixture in Buraidah.

Speaking to reporters after Al-Hilal’s 6-0 win, Neves kept it short.

“I just hope they don’t go to pray afterwards,” he said.

Neves and Diogo Jota grew up together in Portuguese football, sharing a Wolverhampton dressing room from 2017 to 2020 and playing together for Portugal for years. Jota died on 3 July 2025 in a car crash in Zamora, Spain, alongside his 25-year-old brother André Silva. Neves was a pallbearer at the funeral and now wears the No. 21 shirt Jota had for Portugal.

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Ronaldo’s Instagram call for bans

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Al-Nassr captain and Portugal team-mate of both men, used Instagram to condemn what he had seen.

“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,” Ronaldo wrote.

Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal are Saudi football’s fiercest rivals; Al-Hilal top the standings and Al-Nassr sit third after seven rounds, according to Latestly.

Al-Hilal file complaint with Saudi FA

Al-Hilal followed with a statement the day after the match, saying they had lodged a formal complaint with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.

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The club rejected “such transgressions, especially those affecting players or their families, or targeting them with abuse on a personal level”, adding that “sporting competition, however intense it may be, cannot be a justification for infringing on the human and personal circumstances of players”.

On the pitch, the visitors were rarely troubled. Gabriel Martinelli scored a hat-trick, Ollie Watkins added two more and Sultan Mandash finished the scoring. Neves was withdrawn in the 75th minute.

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation has yet to announce any decision on Al-Hilal’s complaint.

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