Lightning striking twice: Rayo’s excuses wear thin
The queue for season tickets left some empty-handed after a 12-hour wait
When you watch Rayo Vallecano play football, it is often a joy to behold. Andoni Iraola has forged a team from mid-table also-rans in Segunda to a competitive, attractive outfit in the top flight. There is the perfect blend across the squad: the effervescent and expressive youth is married up with the steely street-smarts that come with experience. Pure footballers in the middle of the park like Isi Palazón and Óscar Trejo control the tempo and make the ball sing.
After many tipped them to struggle after a relatively poor 2022, Rayo have started strongly, backing up their well-earned point at Camp Nou with a convincing win against Espanyol. Iraola’s men have now played Catalan sides six times since they came up in 2021, winning five, drawing one, and not conceding a single goal.
In a nutshell, there is so much to like about the team and the playing side of the club, they seem to be getting everything right. However, the contrast with the off-field operation is as stark as can possibly be imagined. This weekend, up to 1000 fans were forced to queue for hours around the block at their Vallecas stadium as they attempted to purchase season tickets for the campaign. Local reports suggested that the staffing level to process the orders were in single figures, and they were not able to be purchased online. Some anecdotal evidence showed that fans had been queueing in the street for 12 hours. In 2022, this is nothing short of farcical for a club in the top flight of one of the best leagues in the world.
Rayo did comment in the aftermath of the weekend, insisting that they could not facilitate online purchases for new season tickets because some of their older fans might not have the internet. This may have passed as a plausible explanation a decade ago, but certainly not now. Indeed, they allow renewals in this way, so their argument simply fails to stand up.
This is not the first time the club has been at odds with its own supporters. When President Raúl Martín Presa hosted the leaders of the right-wing VOX party in 2021, fans reacted by suiting up in full hazmat to disinfect the stadium. There have been other flashpoints too, not least their neglect of the women’s team, but most have been predominantly political in nature.
However, when it comes to an issue as simple as fans being able to see their football team play, there can surely be no political agenda or vested interest. The club has to take steps to modernise, revamp its processes and drag its organisation into the 21st century. The team is a credit to the club, now those in charge must do everything possible to make it easier for the fans to enjoy watching their team.