The players and coaching staff of Rayo Vallecano have said enough and, through the AFE (Association of Spanish Footballers), have issued a statement denouncing it. The objective, as they explain, is to demand decent working conditions, typical of a First Division club. Previously, several players and the coach, Íñigo Pérez, have complained in press conferences about, among other things, the terrible state of the stadium’s grass, a problem that the club has been experiencing for several seasons.
The statement begins by demanding better treatment for the club’s fans: “The Rayo Vallecano fans are a fundamental pillar and one of the club’s greatest assets, and we firmly believe that these fans deserve greater care and consideration,” they said, explaining their loyalty and commitment “is worthy of admiration, regardless of the team’s circumstances.”
Then comes the turn of the sports city. The players denounce that “during the preseason, the squad spent nearly three months without being able to train at the Ciudad Deportiva due to the poor condition of the fields.”” y that they were forced to leave the facilities “to be able to do so on a field that met the necessary conditions to carry out our work professionally,” reaching the point of having to train on artificial grass playing fields. They explain that this prolonged situation is due to the planning and normality that a professional First Division team requires.
The third and last of the problems presented by Rayo is the state of the Vallecas stadium. The squad describes the pitch as “unstable and impractical”, and that “it does not meet the minimum conditions required to play a top-flight match”. Furthermore, the letter adds that to this situation are added deficiencies in the facilities that the players use daily, such as “the lack of hot water in the showers on certain days, cleaning that has not always been adequate and obsolete facilities that do not correspond to the standards required by a First Division club for correct professional performance.”
The statement goes on to explain that “all these points have been previously transferred to the club’s presidency on different occasions” but that the promised solutions and explanations received so far have not effectively resolved “a situation that cannot continue any longer, since we see our physical integrity and our basic working conditions in danger.” They end by clarifying that this statement is not intended to generate conflict or divert attention from the match that the club is playing this Saturday, at 2:00 p.m. against Oviedo, but that the squad considers that it is time to publicly express that this situation must change.
