Chaos in Madrid: La Liga match abandoned after paper aeroplanes, seats and balls on the pitch | Goal.com

Published on 10 Oct 2026 | Reading time: 2 minutes

LaLiga's match between Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Club was definitively abandoned on Saturday after Rayo supporters vented their anger at club president Raúl Martin Presa by throwing paper aeroplanes and other objects onto the pitch en masse.

Rayo supporters have long demanded Presa's departure. They blame the director, among other things, for the dilapidated state of the Estadio de Vallecas in Madrid.

So run-down was the stadium that its licence was temporarily revoked and Rayo had to play their home matches in Leganés, which borders Madrid. Most Rayo fans refused to make the ten-kilometre trip from Vallecas to Leganés in protest at Presa.

After 147 days, football was finally allowed to be played in Vallecas again on Saturday, but the match did not last long. In the 13th minute, Rayo fans threw paper aeroplanes, as well as balls and chairs, onto the pitch. The referee then halted the match for ten minutes.

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While Rayo fans continuously insulted Presa, the stadium announcer told them that if they threw anything onto the pitch again, the match would be definitively abandoned. Players Óscar Valentín and Isi Palazón spoke to the hardcore supporters, the Bukaneros, behind one of the goals.

Only a few seconds after the restart, it went wrong again. Following consultation with the police, the referee then definitively abandoned the match. Rayo fans chanted, among other things, 'Presa, get lost!' and 'Presa, son of a bitch', before also thanking the travelling visitors.

According to MARCA, riot police also had to intervene when a number of Rayo supporters tried to get onto the pitch. Whether and when the match will be resumed is still unknown.

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