The team filming a documentary about Vinícius Júnior has been denied access to Valencia's Mestalla this weekend for the player's first match at the stadium since he suffered racial abuse from fans there last season.
Vinícius was sent off in Real Madrid's 1-0 LaLiga defeat at Mestalla on 21 May 2023, having previously suffered racist abuse from the crowd.
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Three people have been accused of using racist abuse during the match, and Vinícius gave evidence via video link in the ongoing case last October.
A Brazilian team, working for the streaming service Netflix, has been filming a documentary about Vinícius in recent months and had requested accreditation to attend the player's return to Mestalla on Saturday.
That request has been rejected by Valencia, the president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, confirmed this Tuesday.
“These are decisions that the club makes and they are very difficult to make,” said Tebas.
“They have decided not to let the production company in. I have to absolutely respect that. They are more involved in the day-to-day life of Valencia, and for anyone who is far away to give their opinion on the situation would be a bit bold on our part.
“I think it [not allowing access to the production company] It is a precautionary measure. In fact, I'm going to participate in the documentary and do an interview.”
Sources told ESPN that the documentary crew had not been given a reason why their accreditation request was denied.
They were now considering what steps to take, sources said, including whether to film interviews about the match outside the stadium, although there were some concerns about the team's safety, given the tensions around the issue.
Valencia reacted angrily to accusations that racist abuse towards Vinícius was widespread at Mestalla.
The club threatened legal action after the Brazilian's teammate Rodrygo Goes echoed earlier comments by Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti and said the “whole stadium” had been involved.
Vinícius and Rodrygo scored twice when the clubs met earlier this season, in Madrid's 5-1 win at the Bernabéu on November 11.
Reporting by ESPN's Adriana García and Gustavo Hofman contributed to this report.
