Ronaldo Calls for Fan Bans Over Jota Chants

Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, has demanded that fans who chanted the name of the late Diogo Jota towards his international teammate Ruben Neves be issued lifetime bans. Jota, a Liverpool forward, tragically died in a car crash at the age of 28 in July last year, and was a close friend of Neves, having played together at Wolverhampton Wanderers and for the Portugal national team.

During a match where Neves' team won 6-0 against Al-Taawoun, supporters targeted Neves by repeatedly shouting "Jota." Ronaldo expressed his disapproval on social media, stating that such behavior is unacceptable in football and that those responsible should be barred from stadiums. Neves, who now wears the number 21 shirt for Portugal in Jota's memory, reacted to the fans' chants by sarcastically applauding them and later commented, “I just hope they don’t go to pray later after what they did.”.