Valencia CF has officially filed a lawsuit against Netflix and Brazilian production company Conspiração Films over their documentary "Baila, Vini," which centers on Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior. The Spanish club alleges that the documentary contains falsehoods and unfairly portrays Valencia fans as racist, thereby damaging the club's honor.

The dispute stems from a La Liga match between Valencia and Real Madrid on May 21, 2023, where Vinícius Jr. reported racist abuse from a section of the crowd. The documentary includes footage from this match, featuring a social media video of fans chanting. Valencia claims that the subtitles in the documentary misrepresent what was actually said. While the subtitles display the word "mono," Spanish for "monkey," the club insists that the fans were chanting "tonto," which translates to "fool" or "silly". Valencia argues that this mistranslation is both manipulated and false, and it unfairly tarnishes the image of their supporters.

Valencia is seeking financial compensation for the damage to their reputation. They are also demanding a public correction and the removal or correction of the disputed footage and subtitles in the documentary. Furthermore, the club wants the court's ruling to be included in the documentary. Valencia had previously requested these corrections from Netflix and Conspiração Films, but their demands were not met, leading to the lawsuit.

The club emphasizes that they took swift action following the incident in 2023. Three fans were identified for directing racist insults at Vinícius Jr. and were subsequently sentenced to eight months in prison and handed a two-year ban from entering football stadiums. Valencia argues that these actions demonstrate their commitment to combating racism and that the documentary unfairly ignores these efforts. The club insists that the racist behavior came from isolated individuals and not the broader fanbase.

Then-Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti initially stated that the entire stadium had chanted "monkey" at Vinícius, but he later apologized after realizing that it wasn't the entire stadium. Valencia maintains that the documentary's portrayal of the incident is inaccurate and damaging to the club's reputation.

Valencia has stated that they "will not tolerate defamation that harms its honor". The club's representatives have expressed their determination to go "all the way to restore what we consider to be our tarnished honor".