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Madison Burgess
Wimbledon viewers have noticed an emotional way that Portuguese tennis player Francisco Cabral is paying tribute to Diogo Jota, after his tragic death aged 28.
It was announced on Thursday (3 July) that the Liverpool FC footballer had died in a car accident in Spain.
Jota and his 25-year-old younger brother, also a footballer, Andre Silva, were involved in the fatal accident at around 12.30am yesterday.
The Spanish Guardia Civil confirmed the siblings were found dead after their car went off a road near the city of Zamora.
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According to the Guardia Civil, the car veered off the road before crashing and catching fire and although emergency services rushed to the scene, heartbreakingly, they were unable to save them.
The police confirmed no other vehicles were involved in the incident.
Since the horrific news broke, there has been an outpouring of grief from fans and messages of support and condolences to the brothers’ family.
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Just 11 days before the crash on June 22, the Portuguese footballer married his long-term girlfriend and mother to his three young children, Rute Cardoso, in a ceremony in Porto.
Among the tributes, Wimbledon have found their own way to honour Jota, by allowing the tennis players to break the strict all-white dress code, if they wish, to wear a black ribbon to pay tribute to the fellow sportsman.
The tradition dates all the way back to the 1880s, with the white outfits reportedly intended to minimise sweat marks.
However, the exception was made under the upsetting circumstances of Jota’s unexpected death.
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And now fans have noticed that fellow Portuguese native, tennis player Francisco Cabral, opted to wear a black ribbon to honour the football star.
The black ribbon is a symbol of remembrance and mourning and it’s often worn or put on a public display to express consolation.
One Twitter (formerly X) user wrote: “Francisco Cabral is all over the news here at #Wimbledon today because of the black ribbon he wore in honor of Diogo Jota.
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“A beautiful gesture from the Portuguese doubles specialist, only possible because the tournament allowed an exception to its strict all-white protocol.”
A second user emotionally responded: “Wimbledon breaking the dress code rule says a lot about the importance of this tribute.”
A third social media user simply wrote: “Lovely gesture”.
Cabral has also spoken out since Jota’s death and said: "I have seen the very sad news. The guy is a big name, not just in Portugal but in the world. He was a great human being with a nice family and three kids.
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"My best wishes to them all. For his family, it is very tough to recover from that."
According to The Independent, he added: “Yesterday the idea of wearing a black strap came up - that was not allowed.
“I asked for permission to use the black ribbon and they let me play with it. It was an honour - it was not for the best reason.
“He was an inspiration not only for me but for the country in general.”
Cabral added: “He made so much in the sport and conquered so much in my life. It was an honour for me to try and help.”
He concluded: “If I helped one percent for the family, I will be super happy.”