Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has called for lifetime stadium bans after Ruben Neves was taunted with chants about his late friend and Portugal teammate Diogo Jota.
Footage circulated widely on social media after Al-Hilal's 6-0 win at Al-Taawoun, filmed from the home stands showing Neves standing over a free-kick close to the supporters when chants of "Jota, Jota, Jota" became audible. The midfielder appeared to applaud sarcastically before pointing to the sky and then gesturing towards his own eyes in the direction of the stand the chant came from.
Jota died in July 2025 at the age of 28, alongside his 25-year-old brother Andre Silva, when the car they were travelling in came off the road in Zamora, Spain.
Ronaldo Demands Action From the Saudi Pro League
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo, who plays for Al-Nassr and shared a Portugal dressing room with both Neves and Jota, responded to a video of the incident on Instagram.
"The league must take action and punish this kind of fan behaviour," he 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."
It is a rare public intervention from Ronaldo on another club's supporters, and one aimed squarely at the competition's disciplinary hierarchy rather than at Al-Taawoun alone.
Why Jota Chants Cut so Deep for Neves
Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota
Action Images/Andrew Couldridge
Neves and Jota were born four months apart and grew up in the game together — Portugal's youth sides, then Porto, then a joint move to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship in July 2017. Both aged 20, they stepped up to English football at the same time.
They were teammates at Molineux for three seasons, lived near one another in the Compton area of the city and socialised as families. Neves carries a tattoo on his left calf of the pair embracing, and was a pallbearer at Jota's funeral.
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The connection is formalised at international level, too. Jota won 49 caps wearing Portugal's No.21, and the shirt passed to Neves in August last year. Roberto Martinez, then head coach, said Neves had a very close relationship with Jota and was the ideal person to represent him.
Neves Responded
Ruben Neves in action for Al-Hilal
Ruben Neves in action for Al-Hilal
The 29-year-old offered a brief, pointed line to reporters as he left the pitch, a response that has since been widely shared. "I just hope they don't go to pray later after what they did," he said, declining to expand.
In terms of the match itself, it was a stunning performance from Al-Hilal's Premier League additions. Gabriel Martinelli scored a hat-trick and Ollie Watkins bagged a brace as Simone Inzaghi's side moved to the top of the standings on 18 points from seven games.
Al-Hilal, the Saudi Pro League and Neves's representatives had not commented publicly at the time of writing.