Cristiano Ronaldo said on Sunday (September 13, 2026) that fans who appeared to make chants referencing former ​teammate Diogo Jota at Ruben Neves during a Saudi Pro League ‌match should be banned from football stadiums for ​life.

The chants occurred on Saturday (September 12, 2026) during a fixture ⁠between Al-Taawoun and Neves’ side Al-Hilal in Buraidah, Saudi Arabia.

Jota passed away on July 3, 2025, in a car crash in Zamora, ‌northwestern Spain, along with his brother Andre Silva. A close friend of Jota, Neves was a ‌pallbearer at his funeral.

Footage filmed from the stands during ‌the ⁠match and circulated on social media appeared to ⁠show supporters chanting ‘Jota’.

The shouts attracted the attention of Neves, who pointed to his eye and then up to the sky in response.

Passing through ​the mixed zone after the ‌game, Neves commented, “I hope they don’t go to pray afterwards.”

In response to an Instagram post showing the footage, Ronaldo commented from his personal account.

“The league must take ‌action and punish this kind of fan behaviour,” said ​Ronaldo.

“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 game finished 6-0 to Al-Hilal, with Neves playing 75 minutes ‌before being substituted.

Al-Hilal Club Company announced in a statement on their website on Sunday (September 13, 2026) that they had filed a complaint with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation relating to the incident. The Saudi Pro League club were “confident” that measures would be taken to “protect the integrity of sporting competition ‌from offensive practices.”

“The Company expressed its absolute rejection of such actions targeting ​players or their families, or intended to cause personal offence,” said Al-Hilal’s statement.

Later on Sunday (September 13, 2026), Al-Taawoun ⁠also released a statement regarding the incident, which strongly condemned ⁠the offensive chants.

“Such conduct is completely unacceptable and does not represent Al-Taawoun, its supporters or the values ‌for which its terraces are known.”

Al-Taawoun say they will “take all necessary measures in coordination with the relevant authorities ​to prevent a recurrence and hold offenders accountable.”

Portugal is very aware of the enormous expectations it faces in the World Cup.

The squad featuring star forward Cristiano Ronaldo is among the favorites to win the expanded 48-team tournament and hoist its first World Cup trophy, but players are not looking ahead to that point yet.

“We have not talked about putting the high pressure on our team,” midfielder Vitinha said through a translator Saturday before Portugal’s first training session in the United States. “All competitions are won by focusing on the present moment and not worrying about future outcomes.

“What we can do is think game by game. … We would love to win, and if we go through the group stage, we will go one game at a time.” Portugal begins group play against Congo on June 17 in Houston.

Vitinha said the team believes it has the talent to go far in the tournament, and each player will compete with a heartfelt reminder. Portugal’s Prime Minister recently met with the team and gifted each player a bracelet bearing their name as well as the name of the late Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car crash in Spain last July.

Jota, who was a regular on Portugal’s squad, was also included this year as an honorary team member by coach Roberto Martínez.

“We have received this with a lot of love,” Vitinha said, pointing to the green and red bracelet on his wrist.

Portugal arrived in the U.S. on Friday evening and will be based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, throughout the World Cup. An energetic group of fans cheered and chanted as players took the pitch on Saturday, and Ronaldo led the team in applauding the fans in attendance.

It was just before sunset on a humid afternoon, but temperatures in Palm Beach were in the upper 80s F (around 31-32 Celsius).

There have been concerns over the impact of extreme temperatures on both players and spectators across many of the 16 host cities, with certain protections like cooling stations and hydration breaks during matches implemented.

Vitinha said he expects the heat to affect Portugal players, but he knows it will be the same for many other squads, too.

“Obviously the physical question is very important,” he said. “The weather conditions will very much affect how we play, but that is for everybody. It’s not just for us. With the temperatures in the United States, Mexico and Canada, it is very different, but it is the world championship. There are no excuses. There are no conditions that can keep us from giving everything for our national team.” Players hydrated throughout Saturday’s training session, as is typical during any practice, but they didn’t seem affected much by the heat. Perhaps they were pretty acclimated to it by then, after spending some time at the beach earlier Saturday to unwind.

“It’s important for our head, our mental aspect as well to take advantage of the conditions we have,” Vitinha said, “to relax a little bit.”