Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has called for lifetime bans for fans who chanted the name of the late Diogo Jota towards his international team-mate Ruben Neves. The incident reportedly occurred before Al-Hilal's 6-0 win against Al-Taawoun in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday.
Jota, a Liverpool forward, died in a car crash in July last year at the age of 28. He was a close friend of midfielder Neves, having played together for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Portugal.
Ronaldo, who plays for Al-Nassr in the Saudi league, wrote on social media, "The league must take action and punish this kind of fan behaviour." He added, "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."
Footage reportedly shows Neves sarcastically applauding a section of fans, pointing to the sky, and then looking towards them. After the match, Neves told reporters, "I just hope they don't go to pray later after what they did."