On the eighth day of the Spanish La Liga, the match between Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Club was suspended due to a protest by the home fans. The match, which stopped in the 45th minute, was canceled after fans repeatedly threw objects onto the pitch, including numerous paper airplanes.
The main cause of the suspension was the presence of a long message written on the small airplanes, addressed to the president of Rayo, Raúl Martín Presa. The text, which has been called "a global meme", accuses Presa of nervousness and negligence, denouncing his alleged misdeeds and calling for his removal. The message invites fans to turn the protest into "anger" and to continue to highlight the president's alleged frauds, with the ultimate goal of getting him out of the club.
According to the sources, the text of the message also contained practical instructions for the protest: transform the flyers into airplanes and launch them onto the pitch at a specific minute of the match. These actions prompted the regulator to permanently suspend the match, as fans continued to throw objects onto the pitch even after the stoppage.
Rayo Vallecano said they had not received any official warning before the suspension and had tried to handle the situation calmly. However, the fans' protest led to the suspension of the match, with the consequence that the match could not be repeated in the following days.
For now it is unclear whether the suspension will lead to further sanctions against the club or whether the match will be rescheduled. Football fans will have to wait for the decisions of the competent authorities to find out when and if the match can resume.