Soccer Football - Saudi Pro League - Al Nassr v Abha - Al Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - September 9, 2026 Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Ronaldo calls for lifetime bans after 'Jota' chants aimed at Neves

13 Sep 2026, 14:24 · CNA · Join

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

Sept 13 : Cristiano Ronaldo said on Sunday that fans who appeared to make chants referencing former teammate Diogo Jota at Ruben Neves during a Saudi Pro League match should be banned from football stadiums for life.

The chants occurred on Saturday during a fixture between Al-Taawoun and Neves' side 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. A close friend of Jota, Neves was a pallbearer at his funeral.

Footage filmed from the stands during the match and circulated on social media appeared to show supporters chanting 'Jota'.

CNA Games

Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time

Buzzword
Create words using the given letters

Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser

Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge

Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less

The shouts attracted the attention of Neves, who pointed to his eye and then up to the sky in response.

Passing through the mixed zone after the game, Neves commented, "I hope they don't go to pray afterwards."

In response to an Instagram post showing the footage, Ronaldo commented from his personal account.

"The league must take action and punish this kind of fan behaviour," said Ronaldo.

"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 game finished 6-0 to Al-Hilal, with Neves playing 75 minutes before being substituted.

Al-Hilal Club Company announced in a statement on its website on Sunday that it had filed a complaint with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation relating to the incident. The Saudi Pro League club were "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 offence," said Al-Hilal's statement.

Later on Sunday, Al-Taawoun also released a statement, which strongly condemned the offensive chants.

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

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 the Saudi Pro League (SPL) also condemned the supporters' behaviour on Sunday.

In a joint statement, SAFF and the SPL said the conduct of some fans during the match was "inconsistent with the values of Saudi football and the principles of sportsmanship."

The governing bodies added that exploiting personal tragedies "for the purpose of abuse or provocation is unacceptable behaviour that has no place in Saudi football."

SAFF said the relevant committees had identified the conduct in question and would take the necessary action in accordance with applicable regulations and procedures, with the outcome to be announced once the process is completed.

Ronaldo calls for lifetime bans after 'Jota' chants aimed at Neves

Recommended Read

Sign up for our newsletters

Get the CNA app