Cristiano Ronaldo has called for zero tolerance towards supporters who fail to show respect inside a football stadium, demanding that anyone who taunted the death of Diogo Jota in front of Rúben Neves be permanently banned from grounds.
The incident took place during Al-Hilal’s match against Al-Taawoun, which the Riyadh club won 6-0. Neves, who has played in Saudi Arabia since 2023, featured in the game, but the result was overshadowed by sections of the crowd repeatedly chanting Jota’s name at him. Ronaldo has now weighed in on the episode, calling on the Saudi Pro League to take action and punish the behaviour, arguing that there have to be limits and that people who act this way should never be allowed to enter a stadium again.
Jota’s death shocked the football world and remains a sensitive subject, and the scenes in Saudi Arabia have provoked outrage, particularly among fans in Portugal. Neves, who was a close friend and former teammate of Jota at Wolverhampton Wanderers and with the Portuguese national team, expressed his anger after the match, saying he hoped those involved would not later go to pray after what they had done.
The bond between the two players is still visible in Neves’ career: he now wears Portugal’s No. 21 shirt in Jota’s memory and has a tattoo on his leg of the two embracing. He has also previously revealed that he continues to message Jota in a group chat. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation has confirmed that its relevant committees identified the conduct in question and are investigating the incident.