Valencia Demands Rectification for Vinícius Júnior Documentary
Valencia CF has requested an “immediate rectification” from the producers of the Netflix documentary about Vinícius Júnior, arguing that the representation of the racist abuse suffered by the Real Madrid player at Mestalla “does not correspond to reality.”
The documentary, released worldwide last week, was produced by the Brazilian company Conspiraçao for the streaming service. The production chronicles the life and career of the footballer, focusing on the last seasons.
A key scene in the documentary details the events of May 21, 2023, when Vinícius confronted a group of Valencia fans who had racially insulted him during Real Madrid’s 1-0 defeat at Mestalla, leading to the temporary suspension of the match.
A year later, three fans received prison sentences and stadium bans for the incident, in the first guilty verdict of its kind in Spain.
However, Valencia has objected to the suggestion that the abuse was widespread within the stadium.
In the documentary, footage of the crowd, filmed with a mobile phone, is used and subtitled to suggest that the fans were chanting “monkey” at Vinícius.
The club and its fans have stated that, instead, the majority chanted “silly”.
“Faced with the injustice and falsehoods committed against Valencia CF fans, the Club has demanded in writing an immediate rectification from the producer of the documentary about the events at Mestalla, which do not correspond to reality,” Valencia stated in a brief statement on Monday. “Truth and respect for our fans must prevail. Valencia CF reserves the right to take legal action.”
Previously, Valencia threatened to take legal action against Rodrygo, Vinícius’ teammate at Real Madrid and Brazil, after he said in 2023 that “the whole stadium” had racially insulted Vinícius.
The incident at Mestalla caused outrage worldwide and sparked a wave of support for Vinícius, as well as calls to better address the problem of racism in Spanish football.
Vinícius was named FIFA Player of the Year in 2024 and was runner-up in the 2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or.
