Mourners queue into evening at Diogo Jota’s public wake in Portugal

Daniel Austin
Reporting from Liverpool

Meanwhile in Liverpool, the famous Paisley Gates in front of the Kop are adorned with homemade banners bearing Diogo Jota’s name.

The Portuguese forward’s tenacity, determination and knack for scoring at crucial moments made him one of the most popular players here.

There is a still a sense of disbelief among those who are coming to Anfield to pay their respects today.

Those paying tribute to Diogo Jota this evening include those from the Liverpool area and many from further afield.

Items laid in tribute to the forward include the badges of teams like Tranmere Rovers, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, German side Borussia Monchengladbach, and Portuguese club Boavista.

Guy Hedgecoe
Reporting from Gondomar, Portugal

This wake has been an all-day occasion, a reflection of
how important these two brothers – Diogo Jota and André Silva – are to their hometown.

Jota was someone who kept in touch with his roots and Gondomar
was always somewhere that he came back to – that was important to him.

I’ve spoken to a number of mourners. Some of them couldn’t
contain their tears and broke down as they talked about Jota.

There was one man who had played alongside him in a youth
team for a few months when they were young players.

He said he couldn’t believe he was gone, it was an utter
shock.

People are continuing to join the queue to enter a chapel and pay their respects to Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva in their hometown.

It’s just passed 18:25 in Gondomar, Portugal – here are the latest pictures:

Tributes continue to be paid to Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva after they were killed in a car crash in the early hours of Thursday.

Here is a brief look at what’s happened today:

• Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and Everton players Beto and Youssef Chermiti are among the mourners who have left tributes at a growing shrine outside of Anfield
• Jota’s family and friends held a private gathering at the Chapel of the Resurrection in Gondomar, their hometown in Portugal, earlier today
• A crowd has now gathered for a public wake at the church
• Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is also in the small town to pay his respects, as are a number of well-known figures from the world of football, including Portugal and Manchester United player Diogo Dalot and former Liverpool players Fabinho

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool

Musician
Mark Phillip led fans in an emotional rendition of the popular Diogo Jota chant
outside Anfield.

He said he hoped Jota’s family would see footage of fans
singing his name.

“For me as a father I’m thinking about his three little
boys and his wife,” he said.

“[Jota] just got married it’s so sad. Such a
spectacular waste of life.”

Portugal and Manchester United player Diogo Dalot has been pictured at the wake for Diogo Jota and André Silva in their hometown of Gondomar.

Jota’s teammate at Liverpool, Fabinho, has also been seen paying respect.

Crowds of people are gathering to pay their respects at the public wake for brothers Diogo Jota and André Silva.

As we’ve been reporting, mourners are arriving for the public wake of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva.

A long queue has formed outside the Chapel of the Resurrection in Gondomar, the brothers’ hometown, as people wait to pay their respects. You can see the latest from the scene by pressing watch liveat the top of this page.

The death of Diogo Jota and his brother has been marked with a moment’s silence at this afternoon’s Women’s Euro 2025 match in Geneva, Switzerland.

Before Denmark and Sweden kicked off an image of Jota was shown on the stadium’s big screen as the players stood in silence.

Primeira Liga club Braga players Ricardo Horta and João Moutinho have been pictured arriving at the wake of Diogo Jota and André Silva.

Horta, Moutinho and Jota have all played for Portugal’s national team.

Members of the public are gathering in Gondomar, the hometown of Diego Jota and André Silva, for a public wake.

As we reported earlier, this follows a private gathering for the brothers’ relatives.

While friends and family gather in Portugal, Liverpool fans have been paying their respects and tributes outside the club’s Anfield ground.

Some spoke to our reporter Alison Freeman about their feelings about Diogo Jota, and their hopes that his family would be comforted by the display of affection for him.

Dr Radha Modgil has been speaking to BBC Bitesize about what you can do if you, your friends or family are feeling upset by this news.

“As human beings, we form all kinds of different types relationships with those around us, and it is the same with famous people,” she explains.

“We might admire them, their skill, what they brought to the world. We miss that role of being a mentor in our lives and miss how they touched our lives.

“Humans have a very special quality – to connect with each other and each other’s lives, experiences and stories, and that is why we grieve people we have never met.”

Young people have access to a huge amount of news information, particularly in this age of social media, and will probably already be well aware of the details surrounding Jota’s death.

• Here are seven helpful tips on how to help children process these events in a way that doesn’t overwhelm them

The specialist who worked with Diogo Jota on his recovery plan has told Portuguese media he said goodbye to him and his brother Andre Silva at around 20:30 GMT on Wednesday – hours before the fatal crash.

“His brother was a great companion and decided to go with him, to accompany him on the trip, and that way they would also spend more time together,” Dr Miguel Goncalves told sports newspaper Record.

“They were going to travel at night because it was cooler, but they weren’t going direct. He told me that the journey would take about eight hours but that they would stop at a hotel in the Burgos area to rest. Diogo was very aware of his professionalism.

“They were only supposed to arrive in Santander on Friday, catch the boat and then go to England.

“The family would arrive later by plane, organise their lives over the weekend and then, on Monday, they had a medical appointment scheduled in Liverpool to assess the situation.”

The head of the Catholic Church in
England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, says he knows Jota’s faith was
very important to him and hopes the family will find comfort in that.

He also told the BBC that a good friend
of his had helped Diogo and his wife, Rute Cardoso, prepare for their recent wedding.

“He would say what a wonderful
family they were and dedicated and clear about the wedding they wanted in the
Catholic Church in Porto,” Cardinal Nichols says.

“To see that family coming to its fullness
in the marriage and then to have it smashed – it is really very, very hard to
take.”

Members of the Portuguese Parliament have paid tribute to Portugal’s Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva at the Parliament in Lisbon this afternoon.

More images of Diogo Jota and André Silva’s friends and family are coming to us from Gondomar.

Another Premier League player, Nottingham Forest’s Jota Silva, as well as the brothers’ grandfather, have been pictured at the chapel.

We’re now getting more pictures from outside Sao Cosme Chapel in Gondomar, where the public wake for Diogo Jota and his brother André is being held.

Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is also in the small town on the outskirts of Porto to pay his respects to the Liverpool forward – who was capped by the country’s national team 49 times after making his debut in 2019.

Daniel Austin
BBC Sport at Anfield

Everton legend Ian Snodin laid a wreath in memory of Diogo Jota on behalf of the club, which offers condolences and says that the “city is united in grief”.

Meanwhile, current Everton forward Beto and Yousseff Chermiti wrote heartfelt personal messages to their compatriot.

We’re also beginning to see more images of Diogo Jota’s parents, Isabel and Joaquim Silva, at the Chapel of the Resurrection in Gondomar, their hometown in Portugal.

The family has been holding a private gathering, and a public wake is expected to take place later.

In the photograph below, Isabel and Joaquim are comforted by Jota’s agent Jorge Mendes.