Rayo Vallecano vs Athletic Club suspended after fans pelt pitch in protest against president

The protest and the first stoppage

Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Club began their LaLiga matchday 8 fixture at the Estadio de Vallecas on Saturday, and the score was 0-0 when the game was first halted (SAPO). Supporters of the home side protested against club president Raúl Martín Presa, and at minute 13 they began throwing paper planes and small balls onto the pitch, according to SAPO and La Razón. La Razón reports that several fans set off toward the dressing-room tunnel, and that the small balls fell especially densely in the area in front of one goal. The chant "Presa, go now" was heard in the stands, followed by an "Athletic, Athletic" chant that the stadium answered loudly.

Timings and the referee's interruptions

The outlets give different timings for the stoppages. 20 minutos places the first stoppage at minute 14, lasting seven minutes while the paper planes were cleared from the pitch, and a second interruption at minute 25, after which the players were sent back to the tunnel. La Razón says the match clock was not stopped at first, and that referee José María Sánchez Martínez gathered the captains of both teams while the objects were collected. The stadium public address system then announced that the match would resume in ten minutes and that any new wave of objects would lead to a definitive suspension. The players waited in the dressing rooms while the fans waited in the stands.

Suspension and the blame

When the game restarted from the goal of Audero, according to La Razón, the throwing did not stop. El Periódico reports that the objects kept falling seconds after the restart, and that the referee then suspended the match definitively. El Periódico attributes the throwing to the Bukaneros, the radical group of the Madrid club that sits behind one of the goals. 20 minutos describes the suspension as the result of objects thrown in protest at the management of the club president, Martín Presa, and of the match being unable to be played with full normality.

Stadium context

20 minutos notes that this was Rayo's first LaLiga match at Vallecas after three home games played at Butarque in Leganés. The article links those Leganés matches to security conditions at the Vallecas facilities, and says the Community of Madrid, which owns the ground, temporarily suspended use of the stadium. None of the four articles gives a date for a replayed fixture, and the match remains suspended as reported on Saturday.