Diogo Jota graveyard shut after 'disrespectful' intruders descend to take sick selfies
5 July 2025, 13:54
Portuguese officials were forced to close Diogo Jota's final resting place after intruders descended to take selfies shortly after the funeral.
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The Liverpool player and his brother Andre Silva were buried at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar church in Gondomar near Porto on Saturday morning.
However, the graveyard was shut from the public after "disrespectful" selfie-takers attempted to take pictures of themselves along the grave, The Mirror reports.
Hundreds of fans lined the streets of the picturesque town as the coffins of Jota and Silva were carried by pallbearers including Portuguese footballer Rúben Neves.
Father-of-three Jota's grieving wife Rute Cardoso was also seen hugging family and friends shortly before the funeral.
Others in attendance included Reds manager Arne Slot, captain Virgil Van Dijk and team-mates including Andy Robertson, Conor Bradley and Ryan Gravenberch.
Also at the funeral for the Portuguese international were his national team-mates Bruno Fernandes, of Manchester United, Porto FC president Andre Villas-Boas and Portugal national team manager Roberto Martinez.
Martinez told AP: “These are really, really sad days, as you can imagine, but today we showed we are a large, close family.
“Their spirit will be with us forever.”
At the funeral, the Bishop delivered a heartbreaking message to Jota's three children - none of whom attended.
Speaking to the congregation, he said: "If it is difficult to see an adult cry, it is even more difficult to see a child cry".
"The ones who suffer a lot are your mother and your grandparents. Seeing the mortal remains of a child must be a greater torment, but when there are two urns there are no words," the Bishop added.
As the funeral got underway, pictures emerged from Anfield - the home of Diogo's team, Liverpool football club - showing a carpet of red tributes, with flowers, messages and toys remembering the footballer.
Flags have been lowered to half-mast at the stadium and all club stores, museums and tours have been closed until Monday, with staff offered wellbeing support.
Liverpool FC also postponed the return of their players for pre-season following Jota’s death and players past and present paid tribute to him and his brother on social media.
On Friday, family and friends gathered for the brothers’ wake, with a queue forming outside the Portuguese chapel.
Jota died just 11 days after he married long-term partner Ms Cardoso.
The 28-year-old was killed alongside his brother, Silva, after a Lamborghini they were travelling in burst into flames near the city of Zamora in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Police said they were investigating the possibility that the Lamborghini left the road because of a tyre blowout while overtaking, and a source from the government sub-delegation in Zamora confirmed “a possible speeding incident” was being looked at.
Pictures of the aftermath of the crash showed debris scattered along the side of the road including what appeared to be charred parts of the vehicle.
No other vehicles are said to have been involved in the incident.
Jota was part of Liverpool’s Premier League-winning side in the 2024/25 campaign, scoring six goals in 26 appearances.
He joined the Merseyside club from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020, winning three major trophies.
