Mundo Deportivo: Valencia fans plan to enter in the 19th minute to protest Peter Lim ahead of Barcelona match

The 2026/27 season should not have started this way for Valencia fans. The long-standing indifference of the club's majority shareholder was once again reflected in a poor summer transfer window, while the team's poor start in La Liga and the comments made at last Thursday's press conference by football chief executive Ron Gourlay have made the situation even worse. The club's general managers have remained silent for seven months, but nothing has changed. What has caused even greater despair among supporters is that after Carlos Corberán's team won at Rayo Vallecano following the fourth round, they are already level on points with the three teams in the relegation zone.

The season has only just begun, but Valencia fans' concerns are not without reason, as this negative trend has continued for a long time. Since missing out on European competition in March 2020, Valencia have failed to reach the 50-point mark at the end of every season. They have now collected only one point from a possible nine, and if they want to escape the bottom three on Sunday, they must either earn a scoring draw against league leaders Barcelona or win the match outright.

Against this backdrop, combined with the high temperatures expected on the day, Sunday's atmosphere is expected to continue heating up, first on the streets and then in the stands of Mestalla. Before the match and during the first 19 minutes, the fan group North Stand has called for protest gatherings. They will wait until the 19th minute before entering and have called on Valencia supporters to join the action. Several groups opposing Peter Lim's management have also joined, including Libertad VCF, the Valencia Supporters Federation, and many fans participating through social media. In addition, Libertad VCF has called on fans to make the stadium 'roar' again after entering, as they did during the Champions League semi-final, directing their anger toward the 'presidential box'. The main organizations opposing Meriton have called on 'Mestalla to perhaps provide the club with one last major service.'

"This time, our roar must have a clear target: the presidential box. Because the people sitting there should hear that Valencia belongs to them. Valencia is ours. As long as there is one Valencia fan willing to defend it, they have not won," Libertad VCF wrote in a statement. During the same week, former player Mario Alberto Kempes was the first person to publicly promote the protest. He called on fans "not to target the coach, the team, or the entire staff."

"The problem is at the head of the snake. We can boycott matches, protest by banging pots, put up banners... he will not care. This is not good for the team, but I have always thought that maybe I should not go to the stadium either, let them play in an empty stadium and see how he feels. Unless the owner says: 'Gentlemen, I will put money in and improve everything Valencia currently has,' I will not buy a season ticket, not even half of one," the Argentine legend said.