During a press conference on Wednesday, while away on Brazil duty, Rodrygo claimed that he heard the whole stadium of Mestalla chanting “mono” (monkey in Spanish) at his compatriot during a La Liga fixture last month in which Los Blancos went down 1-0.
Valencia have since identified three individuals who made racist gestures towards Vinicius but denied claims the whole stadium chanted abuse at the Brazilian.
Rodrygo had earlier shown solidarity with Vinicius when he celebrated by bowing his head and raising a clenched fist after scoring a late winner against Rayo in the next match.
The winger has also commented on that incident and insisted that although Spain is not racist as a whole, Vinicius did receive racist slurs from the “whole stadium” on that occasion.
Valencia have demanded that Real Madrid’s Rodrygo Goes rectify his statements.
On Wednesday, the Brazilian stated that he heard the whole stadium chanting ‘monkey’ at Vinicius Junior when the two clubs clashed at Mestalla. #HalaMadrid #VCF pic.twitter.com/4GDzPRDWjA
Valencia have reacted strongly to the statements and have called them “serious lies”. The club further accused Rodrygo of “stigmatising an exemplary fanbase” and threatened legal action if the player did not retract his statements.
“Valencia CF categorically reject the false statements made by the player Rodrygo Goes, in which he said that the entirety of Mestalla participated in racist chants towards his teammate,” read a club statement.
“Such statements are serious lies that contribute to stigmatising an exemplary fanbase in a completely unfair way.
“Just like his coach, Carlo Ancelotti, who corrected his statements after the game, we ask Rodrygo Goes to also correct these false statements. Valencia CF reserve the right to take the appropriate legal measures to defend the honour of our club and fans.
“Also, we must ask the players to have rigour and responsibility when making statements.
“Once again, we want to emphasise our strongest condemnation of any type of racism or violence, as demonstrated by the lifetime ban for the three fans involved in this unfortunate incident. There is no doubt about our commitment to eradicating this scourge on society.”
La Liga and RFEF imposed a fine of £45,000 and ordered the closing of their Mario Kempes South Stand for five games. However, following the appeal from Valencia, the punishment was reduced to £25,000, and the partial stadium closure to three home matches.