Fans throwing rubber balls force Vallecano game to be abandoned

Rayo Vallecano's La Liga match against Athletic Club was abandoned on Saturday due to fan protests. The home supporters threw rubber balls and paper planes onto the pitch in protest against the club's owner, Raúl Martín Presa. This was Rayo Vallecano's first game of the season at their Madrid stadium, Estadio de Vallecas, which had been temporarily closed due to health and safety issues.

The game was stopped in the 13th minute when the objects were thrown, and play resumed 15 minutes later. However, supporters in the south stand again threw objects onto the field, leading the referee to abandon play with the game goalless. According to Athletic Club, they will contact their fans who travelled to the game to arrange refunds.

The Estadio de Vallecas had been temporarily closed after an audit highlighted serious health and safety issues, including a risk of contracting Legionnaires' disease. Rayo fans have long been critical of owner Raúl Martín Presa, citing poor upkeep of facilities and a failure to modernise the club. Last season, the Spanish football association published a letter from Rayo's players describing the Vallecas pitch as "unplayable" and noting a lack of hot water in the showers and inadequate cleaning.

Brief written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports, BBC Sport Football, BBC Sport, Winnipeg Free Press — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.