Ronaldo calls for lifetime stadium bans over Jota chants

Cristiano Ronaldo has called for supporters to be banned from football stadiums for life after chants referring to the late Diogo Jota were directed at his former Portugal teammate Ruben Neves during a Saudi Pro League match.

The incident occurred on Saturday during Al-Taawoun's home fixture against Al-Hilal in Buraydah, Saudi Arabia.

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

Video recorded from the stands and later shared on social media appeared to show sections of the crowd chanting Jota's name during the match.

Neves responded by pointing towards his eye before gesturing towards the sky.

After the match, Neves was asked about the incident while walking through the mixed zone.

"I hope they don't go to pray afterwards," he said.

Ronaldo subsequently responded to a social media post showing footage of the incident, calling on football authorities to take action against those responsible.

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

"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 confirmed on Sunday that it had submitted a formal complaint to the Saudi Arabian Football Federation over the incident.

The club said it was confident appropriate measures would be taken to protect the integrity of football and prevent offensive behaviour at matches.

Al-Hilal also strongly rejected conduct targeting players, their families or individuals in a manner intended to cause personal offence.

Al-Taawoun later issued its own statement, condemning the chants and saying such behaviour was unacceptable and did not represent the club, its supporters or the values associated with its terraces.

The club said it would work with relevant authorities to take necessary measures, prevent similar incidents from happening again and ensure those responsible were held accountable.