Cristiano Ronaldo has publicly demanded that fans be permanently banned from football stadiums after supporters were filmed taunting Ruben Neves during a recent Saudi Pro League match. The incident occurred during an Al-Hilal fixture against Al-Taawoun in Buraydah, where attendees were captured chanting the name of the late Diogo Jota, a former teammate and close friend of Neves.
Diogo Jota tragically died in a car accident in Zamora, Spain, on July 3, 2025, alongside his brother, Andre Silva. Given their close bond, Neves had served as a pallbearer at Jota’s funeral. During the match, which ended in a 6-0 victory for Al-Hilal, the taunts caught Neves’s attention, prompting him to respond by pointing toward his eye and gesturing toward the sky. When asked about the incident in the mixed zone, the player stated, “I hope they don’t go to pray afterwards.”
The controversy intensified after footage of the chants circulated on social media. Responding to an Instagram post featuring the clips, Ronaldo declared that such behavior is unacceptable. “The league must take action and punish this kind of fan behaviour,” he wrote. “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.”
Following the event, the clubs involved issued official responses to address the conduct. Al-Hilal announced it had filed a formal complaint with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. The club emphasized its absolute rejection of actions targeting players or their families, expressing confidence that officials will implement measures to safeguard the integrity of sporting competitions from such offensive practices.
Al-Taawoun also addressed the controversy on Sunday, condemning the chants in a formal statement. The club described the conduct as entirely unacceptable, noting that the actions did not reflect the values of their supporters or the club itself. In response, Al-Taawoun has committed to coordinating with the relevant authorities to identify and hold offenders accountable, while taking all necessary steps to ensure such an incident does not recur. The report also notes that with Neves playing 75 minutes before being substituted, the game finished 6-0 to Al-Hilal.
