MADRID (AP) — Vinícius Júnior isn't expected to get involved as Valencia threatens legal action over what it described as “falsehoods” in a Netflix documentary about the player and the racist insults made against him at the Spanish club's stadium two years ago.
Valencia said a recently launched documentary mistakenly accuses a large group of Valencia fans of making racist chants against the Real Madrid forward in a league match in 2023. The club has demanded an immediate rectification by the documentary's production company.
Vinícius’ representatives on Tuesday said the demand is against Netflix and the producers of the documentary, and that the player doesn't have anything to do with it.
A request for comment sent to Netflix was not immediately answered.
The documentary includes a social media video showing what appeared to be a large crowd at Mestalla Stadium chanting at Vinícius. The video has the word “mono,” Spanish for monkey, in the subtitles. But Valencia claims the fans were actually chanting “tonto,” which is Spanish for silly.
“Because of the injustice and falsehoods against Valencia fans, the club has demanded an immediate written rectification from the documentary’s production company regarding the events at Mestalla, which do not correspond to reality. The truth and respect for our fans must prevail. Valencia reserves the right to take legal action," the club posted in a statement on X.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was quick to accuse the Valencia fans of racially insulting Vinícius, but later apologized after saying he realized that it wasn't the entire stadium chanting the word monkey.
There were fans who did racially abuse Vinícius during that match. Three of them became the first fans to be convicted in racism-related cases in professional soccer in Spain, being handed eighth-month prison sentences.
During their trial, experts showed that the video with the subtitles “monkey” was edited and did not correspond to reality, according to Spanish media.
Vinícius, who was repeatedly subjected to racist insults, was in tears during that match against Valencia in 2023. He confronted a Valencia fan who called him a monkey and made monkey gestures from the stands behind one of the goals.
The Brazil forward initially didn't want to continue playing that day. He eventually vowed to not back down in the fight against racism.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press
