The first real crack in the tension has appeared, and it came only after Rayo Vallecano finally moved. Before the Elche match, the club announced it would return the proportional cost of the three matches played in Butarque and bring back the Franja, and that was enough for Plataforma ADRV to say 15 peñas had signed a statement welcoming it as a “primer gesto positivo”.
That matters because this has not been a neat resolution. It is a temporary lowering of the temperature, nothing more. The peñas have made it plain that they see the club's measures as an initial step rather than a solution, which is why the language is so careful: there is room for pause, but not for celebration.
A pause, not peace
For the match against Elche, the peñas said they would open a temporary pause in the conflict. That is a significant shift, but it is not the same as trust. Their message is blunt enough to avoid any comfortable misreading: “Esta batalla supone un avance, pero no la salvación del Rayo.” In other words, progress has been acknowledged, but the core dispute is still very much alive.
And that is exactly where the pressure now sits. The peñas are not asking for a public relations flourish. They are asking for something more substantial, a sign that the club's latest moves are not just cosmetic. Plataforma ADRV said the next step must be proof of “una voluntad real de cambio por parte del club”.
What comes next before Celta
The timeline is now the important part. Before the match against Celta on 31 October, the peñas demanded a meeting with the club's board. That request tells you everything about how fragile this truce remains. A temporary pause before Elche is one thing. A serious conversation before Celta is another.
So yes, Rayo Vallecano have done enough for 15 peñas to recognise a first positive gesture. But this is still a dispute measured in pauses, demands and warnings. The club has opened the door a little. The question now is whether it intends to walk through it, or simply leave it hanging there for the next confrontation.
