Ronaldo and Diogo Jota celebrate a goals
Cristiano Ronaldo has called for lifetime stadium bans for fans who chanted the name of the late Diogo Jota at his Portugal team-mate Ruben Neves during a Saudi Pro League match.
Jota, the former Liverpool forward, died in a car crash alongside his brother Andre Silva in Spain at the age of 28 last year. He was a close friend and former team-mate of Neves at Wolverhampton Wanderers and with Portugal.
Neves appeared to be targeted by supporters during Al-Hilal’s 6-0 victory over Al-Taawoun on Saturday, with fans repeatedly chanting “Jota” in his direction.
Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi side Al-Nassr, condemned the behaviour on social media and urged the league to take action.
“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.”
Neves now wears Portugal’s number 21 shirt in Jota’s memory and has a tattoo of the pair embracing.
After the match, Neves responded to the fans by saying: “I just hope they don’t go to pray later after what they did.”
Ronaldo played alongside both Jota and Neves for Portugal. Jota scored 65 goals in 182 appearances for Liverpool after joining from Wolves in 2020 and netted 14 times in 49 international appearances.