Al-Taawoun, Ruben Neves and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation
15 September 2026
Saudi Arabia’s Disciplinary and Ethics Committee fined Al-Taawoun 100,000 riyals and ordered two consecutive home matches behind closed doors over offensive chants aimed at Al-Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves and referencing the death of his friend Diogo Jota.
Al-Hilal had filed an official complaint after the incident, while Al-Taawoun publicly rejected the conduct and described it as individual behaviour. The disciplinary committee said the punishment is final and cannot be appealed, closing the federation’s formal process into the chants.