Rayo Vallecano vs. Athletic Club Rescheduled for December 9 Behind Closed Doors

The postponed eighth-round La Liga fixture between Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Club will resume on Wednesday, December 9, at 8:00 p.m. local time (20:00 UTC+1) at the Estadio de Vallecas behind closed doors, La Liga announced. The match was initially suspended on October 10 after repeated disruptions caused by objects thrown from the stands.

The league confirmed the scheduling details following disciplinary rulings issued earlier in the autumn. The fixture will restart under the exact conditions mandated in the October 16 ruling by the Sole Disciplinary Judge for Professional Competitions, which ordered that the remaining minutes be played without spectators in the stadium.

The Disruption at Vallecas and Match Suspension

Referee Sánchez Martínez halted the match on October 10 after safety officials determined that conditions to continue could not be guaranteed. Police security coordinators reported that the match intervention protocol was first triggered in the 13th minute when paper airplanes and small plastic balls, approximately two centimeters in diameter, were thrown onto the pitch from multiple sectors of the stadium. Although none of the objects struck anyone, players waited on the field for ten minutes while officials assessed the situation.

🚨 COMUNICADO OFICIAL El encuentro entre Rayo Vallecano y Athletic Club, correspondiente a la jornada 8 de #LALIGAEASPORTS, se reanudará el miércoles 9 de diciembre a las 20:00 horas. 🏟️ El partido se disputará en el Estadio de Vallecas a puerta cerrada, conforme a lo… pic.twitter.com/UdWeroCBPx

— https://x.com/LaLigaCorp/status/2115858703140167930

A second wave of objects forced a prolonged stoppage in the 24th minute. Supporters located in the section behind the players’ tunnel—identified by match officials through their clothing and chants as local ultras belonging to the Bukaneros—hurled additional paper airplanes and plastic spheres onto the playing surface. That second incident prompted referee Sánchez Martínez to send both squads to the dressing rooms for an additional ten-minute interval before the match was definitively suspended.

Disciplinary Penalties and Rejected Appeals

The Royal Spanish Football Federation’s (RFEF) Disciplinary Committee subsequently fined Rayo Vallecano 6,000 euros, representing the maximum financial penalty allowed under the disciplinary code for such infractions. The club must bear the full cost of the sanction resulting from the three separate incidents of debris being thrown onto the pitch.

Club executives from the Madrid-based side filed an appeal seeking to overturn the penalty by claiming an exclusion from disciplinary responsibility. However, the governing body rejected the defense, upholding both the fine and the enforcement of the spectator ban for the remainder of the fixture. Protests from sections of the home supporters had targeted the management of club president Martín Presa, culminating in the crowd disturbances that halted the league fixture.