(foto: Uradni FB/TW/IG profil igralca)
Kátia Aveiro defends Cristiano Ronaldo for not attending Diogo Jota’s funeral, saying his presence would have created media chaos and disrespected the grieving family.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister, Kátia Aveiro, has issued a passionate defence of her brother, after criticism arose over his absence at the funeral of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva, who tragically passed away last week.
Ronaldo chose not to attend the ceremony in Portugal to avoid turning the farewell into a media circus, a decision that sparked mixed reactions online and in the press. His sister responded through a series of posts on social media, calling out what she described as a hypocritical and toxic public reaction.
“Fanaticism is exhausting. Criticising without reason. This is a sick society. We all have families,” she wrote on Instagram. “It’s shameful to watch TV channels and commentators giving more airtime to a respectful absence than to honouring the pain of a family that lost two sons. It’s tragic.”
Kátia also recalled the media chaos surrounding her own father’s funeral in 2005, when Dinis Aveiro died while Ronaldo was on international duty with Portugal.
“At that funeral, there were presidents, the coach Scolari... I can’t even remember who was there. I was blind with grief,” she said. “On top of our pain, we had to deal with a crowd of cameras and onlookers at the cemetery. It was complete destruction, a lack of respect. It wasn’t about mourning—it was spectacle.”
She emphasised that Cristiano’s decision was made to spare Jota’s family that same media frenzy.
“You’ll never understand what this feels like until you live it yourself,” she added. Kátia also posted a photo showing dozens of photographers pointing cameras at Ronaldo during the 2022 World Cup, captioned: “You wanted a circus? You got it wrong. Respect is invisible.”
In a follow-up video, she addressed why Ronaldo avoids public events:
"He’s a public figure like no other. Wherever he goes, it turns into a spectacle. He can’t go to weddings, birthdays, even sit for coffee—obviously,” she said.
“When our father died 19 years ago, there was no respect. And that was our own father. Imagine the pressure if Cristiano had shown up at Diogo and André’s memorial. Let’s not be hypocrites.”
Her comments have reignited the conversation around privacy, celebrity, and grief, especially in a country where Ronaldo remains a national icon.