Cristiano Ronaldo's sister clarifies on his absence at Diogo Jota's funeral

Dubai: Cristiano Ronaldo received a lot of criticism for missing the funeral of his Portugal teammate and Liverpool player Diogo Jota.

But his sister Katia Aveiro jumped in to support his brother's decision with a post on social media.

A number of Jota's teammates attended the service in Gondomar, near Porto, but Portugal captain Ronaldo decided not to attend just to avoid causing a media frenzy that could affect the funeral.

In a series of posts, Aveiro said, "When my father passed away, the pain of loss we had to deal with a flood of cameras and curious onlookers at the cemetery and everywhere we went, it was indescribable destruction ... graves were vandalised and walls were climbed by people with no respect."

"And attention was not what it is today in terms of access... At no time were we (the children) able to leave the chapel; it was only possible at the time of the burial, such was the commotion.

"At the funeral, there were presidents, coaches of the national team at the time, such as Luís Filipe Scolari, etc. I don't remember seeing any of them. And they certainly greeted me. The pain blinded me.

"About pain/family and real support... You will never know what it means until you go through it. If someone sends me a message criticising anything my brother does, I will block it (completely ignore it), that is, they will only do it once.

"It's getting tiring. The fanaticism. The criticism for nothing, I repeat nothing... Sick society... We all have families.

"It is absurdly shameful to watch TV channels/commentators/social networks emphasising an absence (wise) rather than respectfully honouring the pain of a mutilated family destroyed by the loss of two brothers. I am even ashamed to watch. Regrettable.

"And so the world goes... Society and opinion. Today they are worthless. They themselves have become bottomless pits. I feel sorry... And war is also like that. Believe me. Human evil is also a war. And every day we have to fight against it. And so it goes," she concluded.

Earlier, Ronaldo shared an emotional tribute to Jota on social media, writing: "It doesn't make sense. We were just together in the national team, and you had just gotten married. To your family, your wife and your children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world.

"I know you will always be with them. Rest in peace, Diogo and Andre. We will all miss you."

Jota and his brother Andre tragically died in a car crash on Thursday and their funerals were held on Saturday.