Al-Hilal fans showed their solidarity with their Portuguese player Rúben Neves during the 2-1 victory over Qatar's Al-Gharafa at the start of both teams' AFC Champions League Elite campaign, in response to the provocation he faced on Saturday in the Saudi Pro League at the hands of Al-Taawoun fans.
A section of Al-Taawoun fans decided to provoke Neves during Saturday's match, which ended 6-0 in favor of Al-Hilal, by chanting the name of his former Portuguese national team teammate Diogo Jota, who, along with his brother André Silva, lost their lives on July 3, 2025, in a car accident in Zamora, northwest Spain.
Neves is considered one of the very close friends of the former Liverpool star and was one of his pallbearers during the funeral ceremony.
After pointing to the sky while hearing the chants to imply that God sees what is happening, Neves said after the match, addressing that section of Al-Taawoun fans, "I hope they don't go to pray after that," while his veteran compatriot, Al-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo, demanded that these individuals be banned from entering the stadium.
Al-Taawoun was punished by having to play their next two home matches in the Saudi League behind closed doors without fans, according to the decision issued the day before yesterday, Tuesday.
The Disciplinary and Ethics Committee of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation made this decision after it was "proven that the Al-Taawoun fans violated Article (51-2) of the Disciplinary and Ethics Regulations."
The committee obligated Al-Taawoun to "pay a fine of (100,000) one hundred thousand riyals to the account of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation," confirming that the decision is "not subject to appeal in accordance with Article (144) of the Disciplinary and Ethics Regulations."
He deserves more
At the "Kingdom Arena" in Riyadh, Al-Hilal fans raised a large banner displaying Neves' number 8, with the phrase at the bottom of the stand, "Together beyond football."
Neves returned the favor in the best way by giving his team the lead from a penalty kick in stoppage time of the first half, before Serbian Sergej Milinković-Savić added the second in the 72nd minute.
Palestinian substitute Hassan Alaa El-Din narrowed the gap for the visitors (90+2).
Al-Hilal fans celebrated the Portuguese player in the comments on a photo posted on the club's X page, showing the stand and the large banner bearing the number 8 and the one that read "together beyond football" in English.
One wrote, "Al-Hilal's candle Rúben Neves," while others wrote, "May God let you celebrate the Elite (the continental competition title) with us," "He deserves more," "Rúben Neves is the best," and "We demand that the captain's armband be given to Neves; he is the most worthy of leading."
After the match, Al-Hilal's Italian coach Simone Inzaghi emphasized the need for his team to continue their strong start this season, while acknowledging that the four-time competition champion, most recently in 2021, had to put in a great effort to achieve the victory.
He said, "It was a difficult match against a team that defended with organization and determination, but in the end, we managed to score and achieve what was required of us. We shouldn't have conceded that goal; we tried everything we could to keep a clean sheet, but luck was not on our side."
Inzaghi added that Al-Hilal must now focus on maintaining its excellent start to the season, which has placed it at the top of the Saudi League, one point ahead of Al-Ittihad and two ahead of defending champions Al-Nassr after 7 rounds.
He said, "We started the season well, achieving eight victories against one loss, and we will strive to continue our teamwork to face the upcoming challenges."
