Rayo Vallecano played a European final in May, and their own fans stopped their first game back at Vallecas
Paper aeroplanes and rubber balls aimed at president Raúl Martín Presa forced Rayo v Athletic Club to be abandoned at 0-0, and LaLiga has yet to set a new date.
Oct 11, 2026
Rayo Vallecano finally got to play a league game at home on Saturday, and their own supporters made sure it did not reach half-time. The meeting with Athletic Club at the Estadio de Vallecas on 10 October was abandoned at 0-0 after fans threw paper aeroplanes and small rubber balls onto the pitch, a protest aimed squarely at club president Raúl Martín Presa.
The objects started coming down in the 13th minute, which is not a random number. That is the point in every home game when the Bukaneros, Rayo’s ultras, start the “Presa, vete ya” chant and most of the ground joins in.
Two stoppages, then the police
Referee José María Sánchez Martínez stopped play and got it going again, and the game lasted roughly another ten minutes. Then the throwing started again and he took both teams off, with fewer than 30 minutes played. A second attempt to restart went nowhere.
Rayo said the match was called off on the recommendation of the police. LaLiga said it “strongly condemns this behaviour, which endangers safety and obstructs the normal running of the competition”, and that a new date would be announced soon. Athletic headed for the airport once the league told them the game could not be finished later that night or on Sunday, and said they would arrange refunds for their travelling supporters.
Why the fans have turned
This was supposed to be a homecoming. Rayo played their first three home league games of the season at Leganés’ Estadio Butarque after the Madrid regional government suspended their use of Vallecas in the summer. An audit had flagged fire protection, the electrics, emergency lighting, sanitation and missing safety paperwork. The ban was only lifted on 14 September, after a second inspection.
It was not the first warning. In February, the home game against Real Oviedo was called off hours before kick-off because the pitch was unsafe, and the next one, against Atlético Madrid, was moved to Butarque.
The fans blame Presa, who has controlled the club since 2011 and has never been popular in the neighbourhood. The Bukaneros called Saturday’s protest “legitimate, democratic, and necessary” and said they will keep going.
What makes it stranger is how good Rayo have been on the pitch. On 27 May they played in the Conference League final in Leipzig and lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace, Jean-Philippe Mateta scoring the only goal. A club this size does not reach a European final often, and the squad deserved better than a summer of uncertainty and a home game stopped by its own crowd.
What happens next
LaLiga has not yet said when, or where, the game will be finished. Rayo’s next league game is away at Getafe on Monday, 19 October, which gives everyone a week to work out what the next home game at Vallecas looks like.
I would not expect this to end with one abandoned match. Supporters prepared to stop a game against Athletic will do it again, and until there is a real plan for the stadium, Presa is going to hear about it in the 13th minute of every home game.