Ronaldo demands lifetime bans over Jota chants
Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has called for lifetime bans to be issued to fans who chanted the late Diogo Jota's name towards his international team-mate Ruben Neves.
Cristiano Ronaldo has demanded lifetime bans for fans who chanted the name of late Liverpool and Portugal player Diogo Jota at his teammate Ruben Neves during a Saudi Pro League match. Jota tragically died in a car accident at 28 in July 2022, and the two were close friends who had played together for Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Portuguese national team.
The chanting targeted Neves, an Al-Hilal midfielder, during Al-Hilal's 6-0 win over Al-Taawoun on Saturday. Ronaldo, who also plays for Saudi club Al-Nassr, expressed his disapproval on social media, stating that such behavior is no longer acceptable in football and that offenders should never be allowed to enter a stadium again.
Neves, who now wears Jota's number 21 shirt and has a tattoo of him and Jota, expressed hope that the fans would not pray after their actions. Al-Hilal and Al-Taawoun condemned the supporters' behavior, while the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and the Saudi Pro League also expressed their disapproval, emphasizing that exploiting personal tragedies for abusive or provocative purposes is unacceptable in sports.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
