Saudi Pro League bans club over ‘Jota’ chants, after Ronaldo demands action
Saudi Pro League club Al-Taawoun have been ordered to play two home league matches behind closed doors after supporters taunted Al-Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves with chants about the death of his close friend and former teammate Diogo Jota.
As reported by BBC Sport on Thursday, Al-Taawoun have also been fined 100,000 Saudi Riyals (£20,000) over the incident.
Supporters repeatedly shouted “Jota” at Neves before Al-Hilal’s 6–0 victory on Saturday.
The chants referred to Jota, the Liverpool and Portugal forward who died in a car crash at the age of 28 last July.
Jota and Neves were close friends after playing together at Wolverhampton Wanderers and for Portugal.
Neves now wears the number 21 shirt for Portugal in Jota’s memory and has a tattoo on his calf showing the pair embracing.
He was also a pallbearer at Jota’s funeral.
After the match, Neves condemned the supporters’ behaviour.
“I just hope they don’t go to pray later after what they did,” he told reporters.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi club Al-Nassr and was an international teammate of Jota, had also reacted strongly to the incident.
The five-time ballon D’or winner called for lifetime bans to be issued to the chanting fans
The Saudi Pro League’s decision means Al-Taawoun will serve two home-match stadium closures in addition to the financial penalty.
In a statement, Al-Taawoun said: “Such behaviour is completely unacceptable and does not represent the club, its fans, or the values for which the club is known.
“Sports competition cannot be a justification for insulting, belittling, or bullying others at the expense of anyone’s feelings.”
