Al-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo has issued a powerful call for lifetime stadium bans following an incident in the Saudi Pro League where Ruben Neves was subjected to chants referencing his late friend and Portugal teammate, Diogo Jota.
Footage widely circulated on social media captured chants of “Jota, Jota, Jota” emanating from the home stands during Al-Hilal’s dominant 6-0 victory at Al-Taawoun. The taunts became audible as Neves prepared to take a free-kick. The 29-year-old midfielder reacted visibly, appearing to applaud sarcastically before pointing to the sky and gesturing towards the section of the crowd responsible for the chants.
The distressing incident targeted Neves with a deeply personal tragedy. Diogo Jota, a former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Portugal international, died in July 2025 at the age of 28. His 25-year-old brother, Andre Silva, also perished in the same incident when the car they were travelling in came off the road in Zamora, Spain.
A bond forged in football, broken by tragedy
The bond between Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota was profound, stretching back to their formative years in Portuguese football. Born just four months apart, they progressed through Portugal’s youth sides before joining Porto. Their careers remained intertwined with a joint move to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship in July 2017, where they were teammates at Molineux for three seasons and lived near one another in the Compton area of the city.
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Neves carries a tattoo on his left calf depicting the pair embracing, a testament to their close relationship. He also served as a pallbearer at Jota’s funeral. Jota earned 49 caps for Portugal, proudly wearing the No.21 shirt. Following his passing, the No.21 shirt was passed to Neves in August last year, with then-head coach Roberto Martinez stating that Neves had a very close relationship with Jota and was the ideal person to represent him.
Ronaldo’s strong condemnation and Neves’ emotional response
Responding to a video of the incident on Instagram, Cristiano Ronaldo, who shared a Portugal dressing room with both Neves and Jota, unequivocally condemned the behaviour. “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 stated, according to GiveMeSport.
As he left the pitch, a visibly affected Ruben Neves offered his own poignant response to reporters: “I just hope they don’t go to pray later after what they did.”
On the pitch, Al-Hilal secured a comprehensive victory, with Premier League additions Gabriel Martinelli scoring a hat-trick and Ollie Watkins bagging a brace. The win moved Al-Hilal to the top of the Saudi Pro League standings with 18 points from seven games. At the time of writing, neither Al-Hilal, the Saudi Pro League, nor Neves’s representatives had commented publicly on the incident.
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