Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Club must finish the suspended match on October 10 in a match without fans, according to the decision of the Sole Competition Judge of the Royal Spanish Football Federation. The measure, adopted to prevent a repeat of the incidents that caused the interruption of the game, will be applied to the remaining 20 minutes and 44 seconds, with at least ten minutes of stoppage time, and the match will resume with the score at zero-zero and a throw-in in favor of Rayo.
The match, which was part of the eighth day of the First Division, was stopped in the 24th minute after repeated falling objects by Rayo fans. Paper airplanes, plastic balls and, at one point, bottles were thrown, mainly from the back of the stadium over the locker rooms. The referee had to stop the game on two occasions, the second with the teams retired to the locker rooms, and the National Police declared that they could not guarantee safety, which led to the final suspension of the match.
The judge's resolution details that Rayo, as organizer and responsible for security, must cover Athletic Club's travel expenses. Athletic may present the invoices and the judge will verify that the costs are reasonable before ordering payment. In addition, it is established that any player registered in the club on October 10 may participate, except for those who have already been substituted or sanctioned due to the events of the match.
The date, time and place of the closed-door match will be set by LaLiga in coordination with the National Police and both teams. The decision does not constitute a new punishment, but rather a precautionary measure to ensure that the match reaches its conclusion. The Disciplinary Committee had already imposed a fine, the partial closure of the stadium during a match and the warning of a total closure on October 14.
The clubs have a period of 48 hours to appeal the decision before the National Second Instance Committee. Meanwhile, the League and the federation are working on the logistical details to ensure the match is played safely and without spectators.