Cristiano Ronaldo demands lifetime bans after fans chant Diogo Jota’s name at Neves

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has called for lifetime stadium bans for supporters who repeatedly chanted the name of the late Diogo Jota at his international team-mate Ruben Neves during a Saudi Pro League match.

Jota, the former Liverpool forward, died in a car crash at the age of 28 in July last year. He was a close friend and former team-mate of Neves, with the pair having played together at Wolverhampton Wanderers and for the Portugal national team.

Neves appeared to be targeted by a section of supporters before Al-Hilal's 6-0 victory over Al-Taawoun on Saturday, with fans repeatedly shouting "Jota" at the midfielder.

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Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi Pro League rivals Al-Nassr, condemned the behavior and urged authorities to take strong action against those involved.

"The league must take action and punish this kind of fan behavior," forward Ronaldo, who also plays in the Saudi league for Al-Nassr, wrote on social media.

"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 has continued to honor Jota since his death. The midfielder now wears the number 21 shirt for Portugal in his friend's memory and also has a tattoo on his calf showing the pair embracing.

Ronaldo shared the Portugal dressing room with both Neves and Jota at the international level.

Footage from the incident showed Neves sarcastically applauding a section of supporters before pointing towards the sky and then looking back at the fans.

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Speaking after the match, Neves expressed his disappointment over the incident.

"I just hope they don't go to pray later after what they did."

Jota died alongside his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in the Spanish province of Zamora.

The forward made 182 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 65 goals after joining the club from Wolves in 2020. He also represented Portugal 49 times after making his international debut in 2019, scoring 14 goals.

Al-Hilal condemned the behavior in a club statement.

"The company expressed its absolute rejection of such actions targeting players or their families, or intended to cause personal offense," Al-Hilal said in a club statement.

Al-Taawoun also distanced itself from the supporters involved, saying, "Such conduct is completely unacceptable and does not represent Al-Taawoun, its supporters, or the values for which its terraces are known."

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The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) and Saudi Pro League (SPL) subsequently condemned the incident.

A joint statement said the supporters' behavior was "inconsistent with the values of Saudi football and the principles of sportsmanship."

The statement also stressed that exploiting personal tragedies "for the purpose of abuse or provocation is unacceptable behavior that has no place in Saudi football."

The SAFF confirmed that its relevant committees had identified the conduct and launched an investigation into the incident.