Ronaldo urges lifetime stadium bans after Jota chants aimed at Ruben Neves

Cristiano Ronaldo has urged the Saudi Pro League to ban supporters for life after chants referencing the late Diogo Jota appeared to be directed at Ruben Neves around Al-Hilal's match against Al-Taawoun on Saturday. Spanish newspaper AS reported that Ronaldo made the demand in an Instagram response following the incident.

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Al-Hilal won the match 6-0, but the chanting prompted public criticism from both Portuguese players. According to AS, Ronaldo called on the league to punish the behaviour and argued that those responsible should never enter a stadium again. His intervention was a request for sanctions, rather than an announcement that bans had been imposed.

BBC Sport reported that footage showed Neves applauding a section of supporters sarcastically, then pointing upwards and looking towards them. The midfielder subsequently criticised the conduct when speaking to reporters after the game. Ronaldo, who plays for Al-Nassr, was an international team-mate of both Neves and Jota with Portugal.

Both clubs also condemned the incident, according to the BBC. Al-Hilal rejected actions aimed at players or their families, including conduct intended to cause personal offence. Al-Taawoun said the behaviour was unacceptable and did not reflect the club, its supporters or the values associated with its fans. Those statements added club-level condemnation to the players' responses.

Jota died aged 28 in a car crash in Spain in July 2025, alongside his brother Andre Silva. Neves was a close friend and had played with him at Wolverhampton Wanderers as well as for Portugal. The BBC reported that Neves now wears Portugal's number 21 shirt in Jota's memory and has a calf tattoo showing the pair embracing.

Portugal's squad has also remembered Jota collectively. In June, Reuters reported that the players had agreed to wear green-and-red bracelets featuring their names and a special mention of Jota. Midfielder Vitinha explained that Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro had given them the bracelets and left the decision about wearing them to the squad. The team chose to wear them together, another expression of Jota's continuing place within the national side.