Saudi Federation: Al Taawoun Punished After Fans Mock Late Diogo Jota During Neves Clash

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation has hit Al Taawoun with a fine and a stadium ban after supporters were caught chanting the name of late Liverpool forward Diogo Jota during Saturday's game against Al Hilal.

The club will now play its next two home Saudi Pro League matches behind closed doors and has been fined 100,000 riyals, around $26,660 or £19,796.

Jota died alongside his brother in a car crash in Zamora, Spain, back in July 2025. During Saturday's match at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium, which Al Hilal won 6-0, footage spread on social media appearing to show Ruben Neves, Al Hilal's midfielder and one of Jota's closest friends, reacting angrily to the chanting from the stands.

In the clip, Neves appears to sarcastically clap and give a thumbs up toward the fans, before pointing to the sky, then to his own eye, and finally toward where the chanting was coming from.

After the match, Neves didn't hold back when speaking to reporters in the mixed zone. "I just hope they don't go to pray later after what they did," he said.

Neves and Jota had a close bond that went back years. They came through Portugal's youth setup and played together at Porto before later becoming teammates at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Neves was one of the pallbearers at Jota's funeral, and he took over Jota's No. 21 shirt for Portugal last year.

The incident sparked strong reaction beyond the pitch too. On Sunday, Cristiano Ronaldo, who also played alongside Jota for Portugal, called for lifetime stadium bans for any fans found to have taken part in the taunting. 

Writing in a comment under an Instagram post showing the footage, the Al Nassr forward said: "The league must take action and punish this kind of fan behavior. 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."

The Saudi federation's disciplinary and ethics committee ruled that Al Taawoun's fans breached article 51-2 of its regulations, which led to the fine and the closed-doors punishment. The decision cannot be appealed.