After fans targeted Ruben Neves with hurtful chants that mentioned his late friend Diogo Jota, Cristiano Ronaldo demanded lifetime bans from the stadium.
Portugal football team
Portugal football team
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Cristiano Ronaldo has once again shown where his loyalties lie, and this time it has nothing to do with goals or trophies. The Portugal captain has stepped into an emotional and uncomfortable row involving his international teammate Ruben Neves. He is demanding that authorities hand out lifetime bans to supporters who mocked Neves with disturbing chants tied to his late friend and former Liverpool star Diogo Jota, as per latest news.
Cristiano Ronaldo furious after fans target Neves with cruel chants
The controversy erupted after Al-Hilal beat Al-Taawoun 6-0 in the Saudi Pro League, where a group of fans shouted the name of Diogo Jota towards Ruben Neves throughout the match. It was clearly meant to unsettle him, and it worked in the worst way possible.
Jota, who played for Liverpool in the Premier League, lost his life in a car accident in Spain last July at just 28 years old, alongside his brother Andre Silva. He was one of Neves’s closest friends, having played with him for Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Portuguese national team.
Ronaldo, who has represented Portugal with both men, did not stay quiet once footage of the chanting spread online. Taking to social media, he wrote, “The league must take action and punish this kind of fan behaviour.” He went further, adding a line that has since gone viral among football fans worldwide: “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 carries Jota’s memory on and off the pitch
For Neves, this was never just about football rivalry or banter between opposing sets of fans. He now wears the number 21 shirt for Portugal as a tribute to Jota. He even has a tattoo on his calf showing the two friends embracing. Watching the crowd chant his late friend’s name in that context was clearly painful. Video from the match shows Neves sarcastically applauded the fans and pointed towards the sky, a gesture widely seen as a tribute to Jota rather than a celebration.
As reported by BBC, an emotional Neves said after the game: “I just hope they don’t go to pray later after what they did.” Jota’s numbers at Liverpool remain a reminder of what football lost that day. He scored 65 goals in 182 games for the Merseyside club.
The player also found the net 14 times in 49 games for Portugal after making his debut in 2019. Those figures show a player who was still building toward his prime, making the tragedy even harder for teammates like Neves to process.
Cristiano Ronaldo - Al Nassr
Cristiano Ronaldo - Al Nassr
Saudi football authorities launch investigation
The backlash against the fans has not come only from players. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation and the Saudi Pro League both released statements condemning the behaviour on Sunday, distancing the league from what happened inside the stadium. The federation confirmed that its disciplinary committees have identified the individuals responsible and are now investigating the matter further.
This is not the first time the Saudi league has faced criticism over crowd conduct, and Ronaldo himself has previously clashed with disciplinary bodies after reacting to fans chanting Lionel Messi’s name during matches. His intervention here shows that some issues, especially those involving grief and personal loss, go far beyond league standings or personal rivalries.