Cristiano Ronaldo has called for the Saudi Pro League to issue lifetime stadium bans for any fans involved after Ruben Neves appeared to be taunted by chants about his late friend and team-mate Diogo Jota during a match on Saturday.
Jota died in July 2025 aged just 28. He and his 25-year-old brother Andre Silva passed away when the car they were in crashed in Zamora, Spain.
Footage widely circulated on social media, filmed from the Al Taawoun Club Stadium stands, shows Al Hilal’s Neves standing over a free-kick close to the home fans when chants of ‘Jota, Jota, Jota’ become audible.
The central midfielder appears to sarcastically applaud supporters, before repeating the actions of pointing to the sky and then making an eye-pointing gesture towards the section of the stand, off camera, from which the chant appears to emanate.
The 29-year-old, walking past media after the match, can be seen briefly telling reporters: “I just hope they don’t go to pray later after what they did.” He did not go into further detail on the incident.
Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi club Al Nassr and is a Portugal international team-mate of Neves and played alongside the late Jota, has called on the behaviour to be punished, adding that those involved “should never be allowed to enter a stadium again.”
Neves, standing two places to Cristiano Ronaldo’s left inherited Jota’s No 21 with the Portugal national team (Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images
Posting on Instagram, Ronaldo wrote: “The league must take action and punish this kind of fan behavior. 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.”
The Athletic has contacted Al Hilal, the Saudi Pro League, and Neves’ representatives for comment.
Ronaldo took to Instagram to comment on a video of the incident (Instagram: livemodetv.pt)
Neves and Jota were close both personally and professionally. Born just four months apart, they were team-mates at youth international level for Portugal and then at Porto, before both joining Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship in July 2017, aged 20.
The two were Wolves team-mates for three seasons, both families lived in the Compton area of Wolverhampton and, each with young children, socialised together. On the pitch, Jota and Neves helped Wolves rise to the Premier League while each became regulars on international duty with Portugal’s senior squad.
Neves has a tattoo on his calf of himself and Jota embracing, a permanent reminder of their close friendship. The Al Hilal midfielder was a pallbearer at Jota’s funeral.
The tattoo Neves has on his left calf, of him and Jota (Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images
Jota, who won 49 caps for Portugal and wore the No 21 shirt for his country, had his national shirt number inherited by Neves in August last year. “He had a very close relationship with Diogo and is the ideal person to represent him,” then-Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez said of the decision.
Al Hilal won Saturday’s league game 0-6, with former Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli scoring a hat-trick while England international Ollie Watkins netted twice.
Simone Inzaghi’s side are top of the standings with 18 points from their opening seven matches, while Al Tawooun are 17th, one place off the foot of the table.
