The Community of Madrid denounces Rayo after leaving it without the Vallecas field and now blames it for every away match

The Community of Madrid has taken its confrontation with Rayo Vallecano to the National Police just one day after leaving the team without its stadium. The Government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso has reported the club for preventing the entry of technicians and workers who were supposed to start urgent works in Vallecas this Wednesday.

The workers arrived at the venue at 9:00 AM to intervene in the gardening, electricity, plumbing, air conditioning, and ventilation facilities. According to the regional Executive's version, the vice president and the head of Rayo's Legal Services refused to grant them access after the Community provisionally suspended the stadium's concession.

The workers were able to start some work in the adjacent building ceded to several sports federations. The staff in charge of the pitch remained outside the field unable to enter, while the Community transferred the conflict to the Police and publicly held the board responsible.

The club has submitted a written request for documentation included in the administrative file. The regional government assures that these documents had already been sent electronically and has described the request as a "new delaying tactic". Rayo has not yet publicly explained its version of what happened at the accesses.

From denying security problems to closing the stadium

The intervention comes after the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport initiated the procedure to extinguish the concession of the Vallecas Stadium. An audit commissioned in October detected deficiencies in fire protection, electrical installations, hygienic-sanitary conditions, and general maintenance.

The seriousness now described by the Community contrasts with the message its own minister conveyed just four months ago. On March 19, Mariano de Paco publicly stated that "there is no security problem at Rayo's field" and reduced the existing deficiencies to a matter of cleanliness related to pigeon droppings.

"Rayo's stadium is no longer a problem," the minister then proclaimed. He also assured that it would remain in Vallecas and that the club would have it at its disposal "as long as it wants." Four months later, Rayo has lost the concession, does not know when it will be able to return, and still lacks a confirmed field for its upcoming matches.

The Community had presented in June a comprehensive reform project valued at around 60 million euros. The plan includes expanding the capacity from 14,500 to 18,500 spectators, building a new stand, and erecting a multifunctional building. The urgent works announced this week predate that remodeling and could last between two and six months.

The chosen moment has triggered uncertainty. The audit began nine months ago, but the suspension was communicated with the preseason already underway and after Rayo launched its season ticket campaign. The team is scheduled to play its first home game on August 20 against Deportivo Alavés and continues to search for an alternative venue.

Mariano de Paco has tried to place all future responsibility on the board of directors. "From now on, every day the team cannot play in its stadium will be the responsibility of the club's board of directors," he warned. The regional Executive thus disassociates its own actions from the relocation that the team and its fans will have to face, despite being the owner of the venue and having adopted the suspension just weeks before the start of the competition.

The crisis is not new either. In 2018, the Community already temporarily closed the Vallecas Stadium while other improvement works were underway. Rayo had to postpone matches and play for several weeks away from its home field. Eight years later, fans are once again facing an improvised move due to maintenance, security, and coordination problems between the club and the Administration.

Vallecas rejects Presa but also does not give a blank check to Ayuso

The fans' discomfort is mainly directed against Raúl Martín Presa, president of Rayo since 2011. The exterior of the stadium and the sports city have appeared with graffiti such as "Presa get out now", "Rayo belongs to the fans", "Presa out of Vallekas" and "This is our stadium".

The Federation of Shareholders and Members of Spanish Football has described Presa's management as "shameful" and has demanded mechanisms to remove owners who jeopardize the future of their clubs. The historic Óscar Trejo has also lamented that Rayo "is not always up to the standard" of its neighborhood, its history, and its fans.

Neighborhood associations have celebrated the Community's withdrawal of the concession from a management they consider "reckless and negligent". Their support for this measure does not imply an unconditional acceptance of Ayuso's plan either. The Regional Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Madrid demands that Rayo remain in Vallecas and fears that the stadium will end up becoming a new "event venue".

The concern arises after the regional government proposed handing over future management to a private company through a model similar to that of the Movistar Arena. Residents warn of the consequences that an intensive program of concerts and large events could have on rest, traffic, noise, and the daily life of the homes surrounding the field.

The socialist spokesperson in the Madrid City Council, Reyes Maroto, has described Ayuso's government's management as "chaotic" and "opaque". She has also demanded that the concession return to Rayo when the works are finished and that any decision be agreed upon with the club, the fan clubs, and the district organizations.

"The residents of Vallecas cannot be left without their stadium or without their team playing in it," Maroto defended. The PSOE believes that the facilities have been waiting too long for investments and asks for a temporary alternative within the district to prevent fans from having to travel to another city every time Rayo plays at home.

Meanwhile, the Community and the club maintain a struggle over the keys, documentation, and responsibilities. Workers still cannot enter the entire venue, Butarque is not yet confirmed as an alternative, and Rayo's next match in Vallecas is scheduled for August 20. Three weeks before that date, no one has yet explained where it will be played.