Police were forced to intervene at Diogo Jota’s graveside as members of the public took photos just hours after the former Liverpool footballer was buried alongside his brother. The pair were buried at a church in Gondomar, located in the eastern part of Porto, and many came to pay their respects.
In the early hours of Thursday morning, on the way back to England, the 28-year-old was involved in a fatal car crash in Zamora, Spain. A tyre of a Lamborghini blew out in an attempt to overtake another car – both he and his brother were pronounced dead at the scene.
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Dozens of figures in the footballing world – including Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson, alongside many of his fellow countrymen, all attended Jota and Andre Silva’s emotional service at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar Catholic Church on Saturday morning.
Police Intervene As Fans Take Pictures of Jota’s Grave
On Friday, there was a private wake, which was attended by Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso – whom he married just last month – and the player’s close-knit family. The funeral was passed respectfully, per The Mirror, but problems arose in the aftermath.
For the funeral, officials closed off the graveyard as a means of giving tearful mourners the chance to give the siblings the best possible send-off. However, shortly after the graveyard was reopened to the public, ‘disrespectful’ selfie-seekers entered the burial ground to take pictures of themselves with the graves.
Only those close to the brothers, such as family and friends, were allowed inside the church. A livestream with audio of the service – which was led by D. Manuel Linda, the Bishop of Porto – was relayed to the thousands of fans who mourned on the streets.
Linda, in an emotional message to the late star’s three children who did not attend the service, said: “If it is difficult to see an adult cry, it is even more difficult to see a child cry. The ones who suffer a lot are your mother and your grandparents. Seeing the mortal remains of a child must be a greater torment, but when there are two urns there are no words.”
“But there are feelings. We are here to say that we also suffered a lot. We are here with you emotionally. It’s human to cry. Too bad for us if we didn’t.”
The vast majority, according to The Mirror’s report, attended with respect and decorum – but there were several issues that police were faced with once the gates to the graveyard were re-opened as they arrived at the scene to break up the crowd of people.
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Members of the public were seen gathering around the grave after the emotional funeral – and some were even crouching down and pointing their phones at Jota and his brother’s headstone display.
As alluded to, plenty of former teammates arrived to pay their respects. Cristiano Ronaldo, however, was not present because the Portuguese talisman didn't want to take any attention away from what mattered the most: Jota and Silva being led to peaceful rest.