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Saudi Pro League side Al-Taawoun have been ordered to play two home league matches behind closed doors after their supporters taunted Al-Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves over the death of his friend and team-mate Diogo Jota.<\/b><\/p>\n
Al-Taawoun have also been fined 100,000 Saudi Riyals (\u00a320,000).<\/p>\n
Liverpool forward Jota died in a car crash<\/a> at the age of 28 in July last year and was a close friend of midfielder Neves, having played alongside him for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Portugal.<\/p>\n Neves also now wears the number 21 shirt for Portugal in Jota’s memory, and has a tattoo on his calf of him and Jota embracing. He was also a pallbearer at Jota’s funeral.<\/p>\n Supporters targeted Neves before his side’s 6-0 win on Saturday by repeatedly shouting “Jota” at him.<\/p>\n After the match, Neves told reporters: “I just hope they don’t go to pray later after what they did.”<\/p>\n Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia and was an international team-mate of Jota, called for lifetime bans<\/a> to be issued to the chanting fans.<\/p>\n In a statement, Al-Taawoun said: “Such behaviour is completely unacceptable and does not represent the club, its fans, or the values \u200b\u200bfor which the club is known.<\/p>\n “Sports competition cannot be a justification for insulting, belittling, or bullying others at the expense of anyone’s feelings.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n