It is eight months since Jay Rodriguez’s world was turned upside down, on a bleak January afternoon when West Bromwich Albion were beating Brighton - their only Premier League victory under Alan Pardew.

During the second half, Rodriguez became involved in an altercation with Gaetan Bong, the Brighton defender. According to Rodriguez, he told the Cameroon international his “breath f---ing stinks”, pinching his nose with his fingers.

Bong had a different take, telling referee Martin Atkinson that Rodriguez told him “you’re black and you stink”, his incendiary claims escalating an apparently innocuous spat into a full-blown racism row.

After an arduous three-month investigation by the Football Association, which included lip-reading experts and Rodriguez paying up to £40,000 for a personal barrister, the charge was eventually found “not proven” in April.

For the West Brom forward, and indeed Bong, it represented an unsatisfactory conclusion to what remains a highly sensitive issue across sport. Rodriguez maintains he was innocent and is not asking for sympathy, yet he is clearly still frustrated after his ordeal.

“It was a difficult time, very difficult for myself and my family. I had to just keep myself focused on what I can affect, like I do with everything. The truth came out,” Rodriguez said, in his first major interview since the incident.

“Racism is a very serious issue, of course it is. If it was something I did then obviously you need to be fully punished. It’s a serious issue, not just in football but anywhere in life.

Bong reported the incident to referee Martin Atkinson during the match credit: Getty Images

“People should report it if they are abused, that is important, so obviously for me it was a big thing straight away. [But] I didn’t do anything wrong.

“Obviously we were struggling at the time [with results] as well, so that didn’t help. It was just one of those situations where I had to sit tight and keep focused.”

Rodriguez was given character references by two of his former managers, Mauricio Pochettino and Eddie Howe, plus old team-mates including Adam Lallana and Shane Long, to assist his defence. Yet despite the FA’s verdict there is still that association with racism that hangs over him, perhaps unfairly.

It should be pointed out that he and his family are acutely aware of the damage caused by discrimination. Rodriguez’s father, Kiko, is Spanish and is understood to have endured racism when he and his parents moved to England from La Coruna in the late 1960s.

Rodriguez, 29, always insisted the remark to the Brighton left-back was simply a childish insult probably heard most Sunday mornings on pitches up and down the country, misheard or misinterpreted by Bong. If he could turn the clock back, he would not have got involved.

In the end, it came down to one player’s word against another so the FA’s verdict was inconclusive due to a lack of evidence. Frustration still lingers, from both sides. The FA has since reviewed the procedures over complaints in a bid to deal with any future incidents more swiftly.

Rodriguez has started the season well for West Brom credit: getty images

But, put simply, there were no winners and Rodriguez’s difficult first season at the Hawthorns – which ended in relegation – will forever be tainted by it.

“I’ve come through it and you always come (out) stronger. It’s one I will look back on in years to come and think of it as a tough time,” says Rodriguez.

“The support I received was overwhelming. I don’t take that for granted, I appreciate that every day.

“I’ve got a great network, my wife, my family and friends, my team-mates, and team-mates from everywhere else who I’ve played with, and people in football. That meant a lot to me at the time and still does now.”

Rodriguez is determined to move on and focus on the future. He remained loyal to West Brom in the summer when Burnley, a former club, offered up to £16m to sign him, while others at the club handed in transfer requests.

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He was unable to prevent Albion’s drop into the Championship but has adapted quickly to the second tier, scoring four goals in six games under Darren Moore.

Albion will face Midlands rivals Birmingham City at St Andrew's on Friday night and for Rodriguez, there is only one remit this season.

“It is going to be difficult but the main aim is promotion. I truly believe the Premier League is where we belong. We do look around the dressing room and think we shouldn’t have gone down,” he says.

“It was a horrible season and one of frustration and disappointment. Football is ruthless at times, and we were on the wrong end of it, but hopefully we are trying to put it right.

“I think we are using that hurt that we had last season, from losing games, and we want to now have that feeling of winning and getting that buzz back that we missed so much last year.”