Ronaldo Calls For Lifetime Stadium Bans Over ‘Jota’ Chants Targeting Neves

Cristiano Ronaldo on Sunday called for fans who appeared to chant about his former teammate Diogo Jota during a Saudi Pro League match involving Ruben Neves to be banned from football stadiums for life.

The chants reportedly occurred on Saturday during the match between Al-Taawoun and Neves’ Al-Hilal in Buraidah, Saudi Arabia.

Jota died on July 3, 2025, in a car crash in Zamora, northwestern Spain, along with his brother, Andre Silva. Neves, a close friend of Jota, was among the pallbearers at his funeral.

Videos recorded from the stands and shared on social media appeared to show supporters chanting “Jota” during the match. The chants drew Neves’ attention, with the Al-Hilal midfielder pointing to his eye and then toward the sky in response.

Speaking in the mixed zone after the match, Neves said: “I hope they don’t go to pray afterwards.”

Ronaldo responded to an Instagram post showing footage of the incident, calling on football authorities to take action against the supporters.

“The league must take action and punish this kind of fan behavior,” 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.”

Al-Hilal won the match 6-0, with Neves playing 75 minutes before being substituted.

Al-Hilal Club Company said on Sunday that it had filed a complaint with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation over the incident. The club said it was “confident” that measures would be taken to “protect the integrity of sporting competition from offensive practices.”

“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 statement.

Al-Taawoun later issued its own statement strongly condemning the chants.

“Such conduct is completely unacceptable and does not represent Al-Taawoun, its supporters or the values for which its terraces are known,” the club said.

Al-Taawoun added that it would “take all necessary measures in coordination with the relevant authorities to prevent a recurrence and hold offenders accountable.”

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) and Saudi Pro League (SPL) also condemned the supporters’ behavior.

In a joint statement, the governing bodies said the conduct of some fans was “inconsistent with the values of Saudi football and the principles of sportsmanship.”

They said exploiting personal tragedies “for the purpose of abuse or provocation” was unacceptable and had no place in Saudi football.

SAFF said the relevant committees had identified the conduct in question and would take appropriate action under existing regulations and procedures. The outcome will be announced after the process is completed.