{"id":891113,"date":"2026-09-14T00:50:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T00:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/891113\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T00:50:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T00:50:27","slug":"football-news-2026-cristiano-ronaldo-calls-out-fans-for-taunting-ruben-neves-with-late-diogo-jotas-name-lifetime-bans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/891113\/","title":{"rendered":"Football news 2026 | Cristiano Ronaldo calls out fans for taunting Ruben Neves with late Diogo Jota\u2019s name; lifetime bans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cristiano Ronaldo<\/a> has called for lifetime bans to be handed to those who tried to taunt Portugal\u2019s Ruben Neves with chants using the late Diogo Jota. <\/p>\n

A number of tributes have taken place over the past year since Jota died in a car crash at 28<\/a>, but fans in attendance Al-Hilal\u2019s 6-0 win over Al-Taawoun used his name as a strategy to distract Neves in a crucial moment. <\/p>\n

\"Diogo<\/p>\n

Diogo Jota and Ruben Neves pose after winning the UEFA Nations League trophy in 2025.\u00a0UEFA<\/p>\n

Neves, a teammate on the international stage with Jota and Ronaldo, was preparing to take the free kick when the chants of \u201cJota, Jota, Jota\u201d started. <\/p>\n

The 29-year-old sarcastically applauded the chant before pointing at the sky and then his eye, seemingly reminding fans that his late friend was watching them. <\/p>\n

The chant did not stop, however, as the visibly frustrated Neves took the free kick. <\/p>\n

Neves was not afraid to share his view on the incident after the match when walking past reporters in the mixed zones. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just hope they don\u2019t go to pray later after what they did,\u201d Neves said. <\/p>\n

Portuguese superstar Ronaldo, who plays for rival Saudi Pro League team Al-Nassr, later weighed in on the chant using the former Liverpool<\/a> striker\u2019s name. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe league must take action and punish this kind of fan behaviour,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is no longer football, and there has to be limits. People who behave like this should never be allowed to enter a stadium again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Al-Hilal also called out the \u201coffensive and unacceptable chants\u201d directed towards their midfielder in a statement released shortly after the match on Sunday. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis behaviour contravenes sporting values \u200b\u200band ethics, transcending the boundaries of competition and fan support,\u201d Al-Hilal wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe company expressed its absolute rejection of such actions targeting players or their families, or intended to cause personal offence. It emphasised the importance of providing a sporting environment that upholds respect and dignity for all participants. <\/p>\n

\"Cristiano<\/p>\n

Cristiano Ronaldo in action for Al Nassr.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWe noted that sporting rivalry, however intense, cannot justify encroaching upon players\u2019 personal or human circumstances, nor does it excuse exploiting feelings of loss as a means for provocation or abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement concluded confirming a formal complaint will be lodged to the Saudi Arabian Football Federation about the matter. <\/p>\n

Neves and Jota spent a large portion of their professional careers together, having player together in FC Porto\u2019s youth team then Wolves and Portugal. <\/p>\n

Neves was a pallbearer at Jota\u2019s funeral and inherited his No.21 Portuguese jersey.<\/p>\n

Al-Hilal\u2019s latest win cements the side\u2019s spot atop the Saudi Pro League standings. Ronaldo\u2019s Al-Nassr, managed by Ange Postecoglou, sit in third. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cristiano Ronaldo has called for lifetime bans to be handed to those who tried to taunt Portugal\u2019s Ruben…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":891114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-891113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=891113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/891114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=891113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=891113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}