Paper plane protest forces LaLiga to abandon game
The LaLiga match between Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Club was abandoned on Sunday (AEDT) after home fans lobbed paper airplanes and small rubber balls on to the pitch in protest against the Madrid club's owner midway through the first half.
The game was the first of this league season played at Estadio de Vallecas, which was temporarily closed after an audit found serious safety issues.
Rayo fans blame negligence by club owner Raul Martin Presa, who in turn accused regional authorities of deliberately targeting his club.
The Sports Association of Rayo Vallecano fan group released a statement after the suspension stating that its protest was "legitimate and democratic ... necessary and peaceful".
It added that it was the "consequence of three decades of putting the safety and health of 15,000 people at risk every fortnight".
A La Liga statement on social media read that "strongly condemned this type of behaviour, which endangers safety and makes the normal development of the competition impossible".
A new date and time for the match will be announced shortly, LaLiga added.
Athletic returned to Bilbao, posting on social media that LaLiga had communicated the game would not take place later in the day or on Monday (AEDT).
Rayo, which reached the UEFA Conference League final in May, did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Rayo captain Oscar Valentin posted on social media that "an unsustainable situation had reached its limit" and too little had been done to prevent things getting to this point.
"It is necessary to listen to and understand the discontent of our fans. We need a way of bringing ALL parties closer together, always putting the common good first and, above all, the good of Rayo Vallecano," Valentin added.
After Rayo's first three home games were moved to the stadium of second-tier Leganes, registering some of La Liga's lowest attendance figures in history, home fans started chanting, jeering and whistling against Presa before kick-off on Sunday (AEDT).
By the 13th minute, when Rayo ultras usually chant "Presa, leave already', hundreds of fans launched paper planes and small rubber balls on to the pitch before a corner, prompting the referee to suspend play.
A 15-minute pause ensued, during which the stadium's speaker urged spectators not to throw objects on to the field as staff hastily attempted to clean things up.
When play resumed a little later, fans in the south stand again hurled objects on to the pitch and the referee ultimately abandoned the game.
Anger at Presa's management has reached a peak in recent months, after the closure of Vallecas Stadium for Rayo's opening home games of the season.
In a friendly against Cagliari last weekend, anti-Presa graffiti appeared in the VIP box, which fans surrounded in protest before leaving the stadium.
