The Saudi Arabian Football Federation has fined Al Taawoun 100,000 riyals ($26,660) and forced the club to play its next two league matches behind closed doors after its fans chanted late Portugal star Diogo Jota's name in a match against Al Hilal.
Al Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves stood over a free kick during the match at Al Taawoun on Saturday, Sept 12. In footage shared across social media, some fans can be heard chanting "Jota! Jota! Jota!" toward Neves.
In response, Neves offers a sarcastic applause and thumbs up, then points to the sky and points at the fans to acknowledge what he heard.
Neves and Jota were close friends, playing together at Porto and Wolves as well as with the Portugal national team. Neves served as a pallbearer at Jota's
funeral.
"The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) and the Saudi Professional League express their condemnation of the unacceptable behavior exhibited by some fans during the Al-Taawoun vs. Al-Hilal match in the seventh round of the Saudi Professional League. This behavior is contrary to the values of Saudi football and sportsmanship," the SAFF said in a statement after the game.
"SAFF and the League emphasize that exploiting personal tragedies to incite or provoke is unacceptable and has no place in Saudi football."
Al Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo, who was a teammate of both Neves and Jota for several years with Portugal, responded forcefully to a post on Instagram documenting the incident.
“The league must take action and punish this kind of fan behavior," Ronaldo said. "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."
After the game, Al Taawoun also issued a statement condemning the chants.
"Such behavior is completely unacceptable and does not represent Al Taawoun Club, its fans, or the values for which the club's stands are known," the club said.
"Sports competition cannot be a justification for insulting, belittling, or bullying others at the expense of anyone's feelings."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Soccer club punished after fans taunted players about teammate's death
