We have obtained for the first time 2.10 - 2.45 micron infrared spectra of soft X-ray transient V404 Cygni. We determine a 95 percent confidence upper limit to the fraction of light arising from the accretion disc of 14 percent. The effect this has on the mass of the compact object, determined from modelling the infrared ellipsoidal variations, is to reduce its mass to at most 10 M(solar mass).