Jay Rodriguez due to give witness statement to FA following Gaetan Bong's allegations

The Brighton full-back reportedly accused Rodriguez of saying ‘You’re black and you stink’ in the Baggies 2-0 win over the Seagulls at The Hawthorns.

Albion’s striker vehemently denies any wrongdoing and claims he was merely making a joke about bad breath. He has also sought legal advice over the best way to keep his reputation intact.

The FA opened an investigation into the incident last week after Bong confirmed he wanted it looked into, and they will hear from Rodriguez today.

Albion’s striker scored seven minutes into the 1-1 draw at Everton, and his performance drew praise from Baggies boss Alan Pardew afterwards.

“Obviously in terms of that (FA investigation) I don't want to comment, but I kept my eye on him this week," said Pardew.

"He was focused very much on his training and I thought mentally he handled the week well considering.”

Rodriguez was disappointed the Baggies didn’t return to the West Midlands with all three points.

“We know they're a great side with great players, but we thought we did enough to win it, so the overall feeling is disappointment,” he said.

“We could have come away with a win, but a point here (at Goodison) is always a good one.

“You can see the way we play, every single lad is working hard to get things going. It's just a case of getting the three points on the consistent basis.”

Rodriguez notched his third goal in five games, calmly tucking the ball past Jordan Pickford after chesting down Grzegorz Krychowiak’s sublime first-time pass.

“It was a great piece of play, Grzegorz put me through and it was a great start for us,” he said. “It was a shame we went in (at half-time) only 1-0 up because you know Everton are always going to come back strong.

"To be unbeaten (in the last three games) is a really important thing, it's just getting the consecutive wins now. We can only carry on working as we are and it'll come."