Rayo Vallecano’s home game against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday ended without a result after supporters showered the pitch with objects in a protest aimed at club president Raúl Martín Presa.

It was meant to be a milestone: Rayo’s first league game at Vallecas this season. Instead, the occasion unravelled in the 13th minute, when fans began hurling paper planes, rubber balls and other items onto the field. The referee stopped play and sent both teams back to the dressing rooms.

The break did little to cool tempers. When the players returned, the barrage continued, and officials eventually called the match off with the score still 0-0.

The protest reflects a wider breakdown between the fanbase and the people running the club.

Supporters, and the players too, have been openly critical of Presa’s management, and of the condition of both the stadium and the club’s training facilities.

The stadium itself has been a long-running problem.

Rayo had to play their first three home league games of the season at Leganés’s Butarque ground after Vallecas needed urgent repairs to fix “serious deficiencies” affecting safety.

It was not the first time either: last season, the club moved one league fixture to Butarque because the Vallecas pitch wasn’t fit for play.

Behind the scenes, the situation is moving toward a bigger confrontation. Vallecas has been badly maintained during Rayo’s lease, and Madrid’s regional government has started the process of terminating the agreement.

For now, the fate of the abandoned fixture is unclear, and the bigger question is whether the club’s leadership can repair its relationship with a fanbase that has made its frustration very public.

With the lease under threat and supporters unwilling to stay quiet, this Saturday may be remembered as the day the tension finally boiled over.