"The drunk, the brainless and the idle enjoyed this. They had said they wouldn't sing, but the best nights aren't planned they just happen, and in the end it was their kind of night. Chaotic, wild, a lot wrong but alright, like a picture of who they are, sticking it to the man up here and down there. Packed into crumbling, filthy stands, Rayo Vallecano's fans didn't see their team get a deserved victory against Barcelona on Sunday"
"Three days after Rayo had definitively qualified for the Conference League the team that is not just in the neighbourhood but of the neighbourhood almost comically incongruous in Europe, Rayo's supporters announced they were going on strike. Rayo's players meanwhile laid into the treble winners, worthy of more than the 1-1 draw it finished. But for a Lamine Yamal penalty which the broken video assistant system couldn't correct, they might have got it."
Rayo Vallecano fans sang and celebrated despite earlier vows of silence, creating a chaotic, wild atmosphere that reflected their identity. The stands were packed, crumbling and filthy, and the pitch was torn-up, dried-out and lacking grass. VAR failed to overturn a Lamine Yamal penalty, and goalkeeper Joan Garcia made key interventions as Rayo earned a 1-1 draw against Barcelona. The team competed on a budget roughly 18 times smaller than Barcelona's and received praise for playing their way. Supporters combined protest and party, later announcing a strike three days after European qualification. The club faces internal crises: staff mistreatment protests, unusable training facilities and stadium inspection failures.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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