Soccer-Al Taawoun hit with stadium closure and fine over 'Jota' chants

Sept 15 (Reuters) - The ⁠Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s Disciplinary and Ethics Committee ⁠on Tuesday ordered Al Taawoun to play their ‌next two home Saudi Pro League matches behind closed doors and fined the club 100,000 riyals ($26,660) after supporters chanted the name ​of the late Portugal forward Diogo ⁠Jota during Saturday's match ⁠against Al Hilal.

• The sanctions stem from an incident ⁠involving ‌Al Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves, a close friend and former teammate of Jota, who ⁠died in a car crash in Spain last ​year alongside ‌his brother Andre Silva. Neves was among the ⁠pallbearers at ​Jota's funeral.

• Videos circulated on social media appeared to show sections of the crowd chanting "Jota" during Al Hilal's 6-0 ⁠win over Al Taawoun. Neves reacted ​by pointing to his eye and then toward the sky before saying after the match: "I hope they don't ⁠go to pray afterwards."

• The chants sparked widespread criticism, including from Al Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who urged authorities to take strong action.

• Al Hilal said ​it had filed a complaint with ⁠the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, describing the chants as ​offensive and unacceptable, while Al Taawoun ‌condemned the behaviour and said ​it did not represent the club or its supporters.

(Reporting Ashraf Hamed AttaEditing by Toby Davis)

Thank you for your report!

9月15日（路透社）——沙特阿拉伯足球联合会纪律和道德委员会周二下令阿尔塔乌恩队接下来的两场沙特职业联赛主场比赛闭门进行，并对该俱乐部处以10万里亚尔（26660美元）的罚款，此前该队球迷在周六对阵阿尔希拉尔队的比赛中高喊已故葡萄牙前锋迪奥戈·若塔的名字。

• 这些制裁源于一起涉及阿尔希拉尔中场球员鲁本·内维斯的事件。内维斯是若塔的好友和前队友，去年在西班牙的一场车祸中与他的兄弟安德烈·席尔瓦一同丧生。内维斯是若塔葬礼上的扶柩人之一。

• 社交媒体上流传的视频显示，在阿尔希拉尔6-0大胜阿尔塔亚文的比赛中，部分观众高喊“若塔”的名字。内维斯对此的反应是先指了指自己的眼睛，然后又指向天空，赛后说道：“我希望他们赛后不要去祈祷。”

• 这些口号引发了广泛的批评，其中包括阿尔纳斯尔队长克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多，他敦促当局采取强有力的行动。

• 阿尔希拉尔表示，他们已向沙特阿拉伯足球联合会提出申诉，称这些口号具有冒犯性和不可接受性；而阿尔塔乌恩则谴责了这种行为，并表示这并不代表俱乐部或其支持者。

（阿什拉夫·哈米德·阿塔报道，托比·戴维斯编辑）

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