Organised supporters will not accompany Rayo to away matches from Vallecas

The position has been communicated jointly by Federación de Peñas del Rayo Vallecano and Plataforma ADRV. The groups consider that playing home matches at another stadium constitutes a change to the conditions under which supporters bought or renewed their season tickets.

The supporters’ clubs also ask the board to explain how many matches the team will have to play away from Vallecas. Uncertainty over the duration of the move remains while the work needed to resolve the deficiencies identified at the stadium continues.

If the club does not offer the possibility of recovering the amount corresponding to the relocated matches, the supporters’ representatives say they will consider other ways to claim it. Their request is aimed especially at season-ticket holders who decide not to go to Butarque or any other ground where Rayo plays as the home side.

The rejection is not limited to the match against Alavés. The supporters’ clubs have warned that they will not attend El Plantío or any other stadium that temporarily replaces Vallecas either. The decision turns the relocation into an open protest against the management of the crisis at the franjirrojo ground.

Butarque had emerged as the closest solution to prevent the team having to move outside Comunidad de Madrid. Leganés agreed to make its stadium available for the match against Alavés, allowing Rayo to continue playing near its neighbourhood despite the closure of its usual ground.

The conflict thus adds a new problem to the start of the season. Rayo already has an alternative for playing its matches, but it still has to resolve how it will compensate season-ticket holders who paid to watch the team at Vallecas and who are now demanding to know when they will be able to return to their stadium.