Girona manager Michel Sanchez has responded to Rayo Vallecano President Raul Martin Presa, after the latter made a snide remark about his decision to speak Catalan. Michel had complained that Presa was responsible for the club’s time-wasting during Rayo’s win on Sunday.
Rayo authored a stunning comeback from a goal down against Girona on Sunday, running out 2-1 winners, but the Catalan side were frustrated with the antics of Rayo goalkeeper Agustin Batalla. After the game, Michel curiously pointed the finger at Presa for his time-wasting.
“Perhaps there remains the stain of time-wasting, which I already know are not a result of [instructions from] Inigo, they come from the board, which is the one that defines these situations,” he told Cadena SER.
“It’s very ugly, because Rayo is a team that plays with amazing values and there are things that are very bad. Apart from that, the fact that the final minutes or the stoppage time could not be played, it could be that the result is fair.”
Meanwhile Rayo manager Inigo Perez agreed that time-wasting did not sit well with him, although he did not criticise Batalla.
“I agree with him, it is something that I do not feel comfortable with and that as a coach I cannot control,” Perez responded, although did note he was unable to tell whether Batalla did or did not have an injury.
Asked about Michel’s words after the game, Presa asked whether Michel had said it in Catalan, before declaring that ‘it does not have anything to do with me’.
🙄 “El entrenador del Girona puede decir lo que quiera decir…
…¿lo ha hecho en catalán o español?”. 😅
⚡️🗣️ Martín Presa, presidente del Rayo, tras las polémicas declaraciones de Michel. https://t.co/45LDysZIao pic.twitter.com/Kq3Sgovf6b
— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) January 27, 2025
The incident was brought up again on Tuesday as Girona prepared for their Champions League clash with Arsenal at Montilivi. Michel noted that he was speaking from experience of having worked under Presa while he himself was at Rayo.
“The reality is that I think Rayo deserved to win. I have been at Rayo since I was 13, I was born in Vallecas and they have taught me to know how to win and lose. I don’t use the last 10 minutes as an excuse. I didn’t like the actions of Batalla at all and that’s the reality.”
“When I was coach of Rayo he [Presa] told me that I didn’t know how to stop the game or play the last minutes. Inigo I know that he doesn’t do it with pleasure and he doesn’t tell his players. I have heard the president say that I don’t know how to play games. Barca comes back from 2-1 down and scores 2-3 against me and blames me for not killing the match. It’s my way of seeing football and he has his.”
“I want Rayo to do well because I feel like another Rayo player. I said it in Catalan, Spanish and Vallecano. He may not understand that because he has been there for many years and does not have that feeling of belonging. He should get more involved in Vallecas and know what people think in Vallecas.”
Michel still retains hero status in Vallecas from his time there as a long-serving player and then successful manager, getting them promotion in 2018 as Segunda champions. As a local product, his returns are generally greeted with plenty of love, even if not from the hierarchy in Vallecas.
