Carlton forward Jesse Motlop pays tribute to Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota with unique goal celebration
Jota, 28, and his brother Andre Silva, a 26-year-old fellow footballer in their native Portugal, were killed in a car crash near Zamora in the north-west of Spain in the early hours of Thursday morning.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Jesse Motlop pays tribute to late footballer Diogo Jota.
Authorities said their Lamborghini suffered a tyre blow-out while overtaking another then left the road, crashed and caught fire, with the two siblings found dead after emergency services arrived.
After kicking a goal in the first quarter of their AFL blockbuster against Collingwood, Motlop sat down with his legs crossed and gestured like he was playing on a video game console.
Channel 7's commentary team were initially confused about the meaning of the celebration, but soon worked out that it was Jota's trademark.
Watching a replay of the celebration at quarter-time, Hamish McLachlan said: 'Now, we saw the Motlop goal and celebration during that opening quarter; I'm told this is a nod to the late Liverpool soccer player, Diogo Jota — that was his trademark celebration after he scored.
'The Portuguese footballer who tragically died with his brother in the car crash. Terribly sad.'
Jota had married his long-time partner Rute Cardoso on June 22.
'Yes to forever,' they wrote on social media.
The couple share three children together.
The ceremony took place just weeks after a busy but successful period on the pitch for Jota.
He won the English Premier League with Liverpool in May, having scored six goals in 26 games on their way to the title.
'Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota,' the club said.
'Liverpool FC will be making no further comment at this time and request the privacy of Diogo and Andre's family, friends, teammates and club staff is respected as they try to come to terms with an unimaginable loss. We will continue to provide them with our full support.'
Authorities are trying to determine how fast the Lamborghini was going when it veered off the A-52 motorway and crashed.
Authorities were spotted investigating the scene on Thursday. When the car was removed from the area, it was totally destroyed, a burnt-out shell.
'At this moment in time it is impossible to say at exactly what speed the car was going, but that is something the Civil Guard investigators will be able to detail at least approximately in their final report from things like the skid marks,' the law enforcement agency said.
'What I can confirm is that no other vehicle was involved and no one else was hurt.
'(And) everything points to the blowout of a tyre while it (the vehicle) was overtaking.'
It has been reported that the Lamborghini was overtaking another car at the time.
A Spanish government source has reportedly said they are thinking the double tragedy was 'a possible speeding incident' but it take could take days before a preliminary report is finished.
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- News.com.au
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