Mestalla transforms into a large gas canister about to burn. The outrage of a large part of Valencia’s social masses will turn Avenida de Suecia and the area surrounding the stadium into a referendum in which the rejection of Peter Lim’s management of the centenary bat club will win by a predictable majority. The deadline is Saturday at 8am, an hour before Voro’s team measures their “clean” work week in Paterna against Athletic Club, their Copa del Rey quarterfinal henchman. That elimination sparked the fans’ recovery, bringing Gennaro Gattuso forward and urging the Libertad VCF platform to call the protest after President Layhoon Chan’s speech at last week’s triple press appearance, football director Miguel Ángel Corona and spokesman Javier Solís will breed despair.
19 minutes to expel Peter Lim. The expected massive concentration has meant that all those supporters who agree with her only enter their seat in the stadium after the 19th minute of the game. This minute is iconic in Mestalla as Libertad VCF, the most resourceful and recalcitrant opposition group against Lim, decided to time it so that the ranks would chant “Peter, go now” for exactly 60 seconds during the game against Lim on November 7, 2021 Atlético de Madrid. The 19th minute commemorates the founding year of the club, 1919. The initiative had such resonance that the platform decided to repeat it in each of the team’s matches at the Mestalla. Since then, in the 19th minute, the stands have held up a few yellow cards with the slogan: “Lim Go Home” and thundered loudly at the club owner. The complaint was also carried over from the Mestalla by fans moving to other stands.
The initiative wants to create a strong image that has international appeal and transcends borders. If successful, the image of the empty Mestalla with the players facing Athletic while their people raise their voices against Peter Lim on the street would have media impact. José Pérez, president of Libertad VCF, emphasizes: “This is not a sporting problem, it is not against the players, it is up to Peter Lim to negotiate and go. If the pre-match demonstration is confined to the outskirts of Mestalla, it will not be broadcast on TV far from Valencia, as has already happened. On the other hand, the television will not be able to hide the fact that the stands are empty until the 19th minute.
With the team at a point of relegation and shaking with fear, the debate has arisen: is it opportune at this point to leave the team alone without the encouragement of its people? “I don’t think we’re going to lose the three points because we go in the 19th. Do we put those 19 minutes on a scale, does it give you three points or a picture of impact at international level? For me, the answer lies on hand. The 19 minutes in the stands won’t do us any good; Lim, on the other hand, puts us in the second division. We’re approaching the edge of the abyss. There’s no time. If I had 19 minutes for something, I’d rather have Peter Lim to Force to go than support the team from the stands. A picture of an empty Mestalla puts Lim on the ropes; we have to take it to a borderline situation. We’re risking the existence of our club,” Pérez reasoned.
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The script for the social revolt calls for fans to enter Mestalla Stadium “in order” from the 20th minute to cheer on the team “with the #LimGomeHome sign held high”. The movement will culminate when I reach the end of the game, where the organizers plan to “bang in the stands for five minutes with banners held high.”
According to Libertad VCF, this action also aims to get the city’s political authorities to decide on the measures to be taken to “liberate” the club, with the objective that “no Valencian will go to the polls in the next elections without knowing it.” What measures will each political party be ready to take to democratize our Valencia CF?”.
The platform has already organized three demonstrations against Peter Lim. The last one, on May 21, 2021, coincided with Valencia’s last game in Mestalla against Celta, with about 6,000 people taking to the belly of the field while almost 8,000 didn’t move from the streets to show their dissatisfaction with the biggest shareholder.
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