SPANISH side Rayo Vallecano have declared they will not be intimidated after thugs broke into their stadium and vandalised it.
The beaten Conference League finalists issued a statement on social media alongside shocking pictures of graffiti and vandalism at their Vallecas Stadium.
The 14,708 capacity ground has been deemed unsafe to play in by authorities since the start of the season.
That is because club president Raul Martin Presa is at war with the fanbase over whether the club should leave the stadium.
Presa argues the rundown condition of the ground makes it unsuitable, while fans point the finger at him for allowing it to move into a state of disrepair.
Rayo, who are 12th in , were able to finally host a match over the international break, a friendly against Cagliari on Saturday.
However, it quickly became apparent that the VIP box where the president would usually go had been subjected to an attack.
Graffiti that said: “Presa Veta Ya (Presa Go Now),” and artwork was seen all over it, with the club releasing a statement slamming the “harassment campaign” against the president.
They also condemned the Councillor of the Community of Madrid, Mariano de Paco.
The lengthy statement said: “Is this the public-private collaboration that the Minister of Sports wants for the Vallecas Stadium?
“Rayo Vallecano de Madrid publicly denounces that tonight an assault has taken place on the Vallecas Stadium, the club’s social headquarters; the authorities’ box has been vandalized and destroyed, just as the facades of our Stadium are continually.
“These images are the evident consequence of the hatred sown and reveal how the public-private collaboration spoken of by the gentleman Minister is understood.
“It is one more act in the campaign of harassment, extortion, and intimidation that our president and his family—and by extension the entire Rayo Vallecano de Madrid—have been suffering since July 28.
“From Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, we are exhausted from denouncing the incitement to hatred that comes with threats in the form of vandalisms like this one or the one that the statue of the bear and the strawberry tree suffered this week.
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“These acts constitute clear proof that many people expected this harassment and takedown campaign against the club’s president to end in some other way than by holding the Vallecas Trophy in our Stadium today.
“Rayo Vallecano has achieved the reopening of the Stadium after having carried out a total of zero works by the Community of Madrid (which spoke of up to six months of works) this summer, after Rayo Vallecano accredited full compliance with all regulations, and after Rayo Vallecano dismantled the scandalously incorrect audit report that served as an excuse to suspend the concession of the Vallecas Stadium.
“These are the consequences when public servants collaborate and coexist with ultras groups.”
The club continued: “From Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, we announce that this campaign of harassment and extortion that the club has been suffering since July 28 will not intimidate us, and today, after seven years, the Vallecas Trophy will be held as planned, a trophy that is a source of pride for our entire neighborhood, and afterward we will continue working tirelessly to try to achieve, for the first time in the history of this centenary entity, our sixth consecutive season in the first division.
“P.S.: This incident has already been reported to the authorities with these images. On Monday, the corresponding complaint will be filed, in which we will provide the images from the security cameras.
“From the Club, we trust that action will be taken with diligence and determination regarding something we consider unacceptable, such as the assault on our social headquarters.”
