The good thing about Cristiano Ronaldo playing in your league is that he is one of the most famous footballers ever and when he scores a great goal or reaches 1,000 (just 21 to go), many people watch. The bad thing about Cristiano Ronaldo playing in your league is that when something negative happens and he is involved, just as many people will watch and listen. Global attention is something that the big European leagues have had for years but it is something the Saudi Pro League, which has spent billions in search of achieving a similar stature, needs to get used to.

On Sunday 13 September, Ronaldo wrote to his 680 million Instagram followers to discuss the events of Saturday evening. That was when Al-Taawoun supporters were coming to terms with a 6-0 home thrashing by Al-Hilal, whose £150m-plus forward line, Ollie Watkins and Gabriel Martinelli, got five between them. Fair to say that some handled it better than others as what followed was in the worst possible taste.

At the end, what seemed to be a small number of fans saw Al-Hilal’s Rúben Neves in the centre circle and started chanting the name of his former Portugal and Wolves teammate Diogo Jota, who tragically died in a car accident in July 2025. Neves, who has a tattoo of the Liverpool star, was visibly upset and made a gesture which clearly said to those supporters that “God is watching you”. He also said to Saudi reporters after the game: “I hope they don’t go to pray afterwards.”

Ronaldo then weighed in. “The league must take ⁠action and punish this kind of fan behaviour,” he wrote. “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.” Al-Hilal made an official complaint. This was a big story.

Ayman al-Hotami, one of Al-Hilal’s best-known fans, says: “I found the chants hard to believe but those responsible were few in number and very young. Al-Hilal’s fanbase completely condemn the chants and demanded an apology regarding the actions of individuals in their stands. We appreciate the club’s response in condemning this isolated incident, which represents neither the club nor our society.”

Away from home in small stadiums with low attendances, often the case when the big teams play outside Jeddah and Riyadh, the chants of a few can carry far. More than once, Ronaldo has heard the name of a certain Argentinian star coming his way and reacted badly. This, though, was on a completely different level.

The well-known Saudi broadcaster Waleed al-Faraj says: “To shout ‘Messi’ at Ronaldo is acceptable within the context of the rivalry between them, but to chant the name of his deceased teammate Jota at Neves is an inappropriate act. How can you play on people’s grief like this? You should have some humanity.”

The Saudi legend Sami al-Jaber, who played at four World Cups and had a short spell in England with Wolves, sent a message to Neves: “Rúben, your presence in Saudi football means a great deal to us. As Saudis, we take pride in our values of respect and hospitality … they transcend any sporting rivalry. This behaviour does not reflect those values. I hope you know how warmly you are regarded here, and how much you belong.”

Ronaldo’s call for action was met four days later. “The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (Saff) and the Saudi Pro League (SPL) condemn the unacceptable conduct by some supporters in attendance,” a statement said, adding that the chants were inconsistent with the values of Saudi football and sportsmanship in general. Al-Taawoun have been handed a ban of around £20,000 and ordered to play two matches behind closed doors. An earlier statement said that “exploiting personal tragedies for the purpose of abuse or provocation is unacceptable behaviour that has no place in Saudi football”.

Some felt that more could have been made of an opportunity to send a message to the rest of the league, one of zero tolerance and harsh punishments for those individuals responsible. Nobody would have complained – Al Taawoun had condemned what happened and said it was “not representative of their supporters”. Here was a clearcut case of fans behaving badly as you are going to get.

European football has worked hard to try and stamp out offensive chants. “Stadiums in places such as Portugal and England are nowadays heavily controlled spaces,” says Simon Chadwick, professor of Afro-Eurasian Sport at Emlyon Business School in Paris. “Hence, when someone like Ronaldo encounters [verbal abuse] he will inevitably respond, thereby attracting attention from the media and others. Saudi Arabian fans need to get used to such a reaction fast.”

It is not just the international media that get involved. “Organisations such as the AFC and Fifa may even implement codes of conduct and penalties for situations like the Jota episode,” Chadwick says. “In other words, if Saudi fans and/or the Pro League can’t regulate or control the situation, then someone else will.”

With the Asian Cup coming to the country in January for the first time – and preparation for the 2034 World Cup on the way – Saudi Arabia will be hoping that such action will not be necessary.