Charlton Athletic fans set to stage protest at Valley on Saturday – and want supporters to be quids in

Charlton Athletic fans are set to protest at The Valley on Saturday – a first move as efforts to remove East Street Investments from controlling the club is ramped up.

The event – at midday – has been arranged by Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust, Coalition Against Roland Duchatelet (CARD) and Fans4Fans.

Supporters are being asked to bring £1, which is the figure that ESI are thought to have paid Duchatelet to buy the South London club at the start of January.

A statement on CAST’s website said: “Unnecessary relegation, transfer embargoes, even the failure to meet the extremely low bar of EFL approval – it is fair to say no-one has come out of this insulting sham of ownership with any credit.

“One pound may not go far for most of us, yet ESI’s £1 investment in ‘our club’ has stretched the realms of audacity and credibility.

“Now as the internal petty bickering shifts from social media to court injunctions, enough is enough. It is our turn to claim the club for a pound.

“We are urging supporters, young and old, to attend the Valley next Saturday, August 22 at 12:00 where we will claim back our club for one hour.

“The message is simple. It’s a family orientated, law abiding event. Wear your colours, wear fancy dress, but most importantly, wear a mask. We are keen to adhere to social distancing as we present a visible outpouring of support for Charlton Athletic –  our club – despite its farcical ownership.

“Simply meet in the West Stand Car Park at 1200 on Saturday, August 22.

“Bring a flag, bring your grandparents, bring your grandchildren. Let’s show what this club means to the Charlton community.

“In return we are asking, where possible that people leave a symbolic £1 at the feet of Sam Bartram’s statue. All monies will be passed on to Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust’s Covid-19 relief fund.

“It is only an hour of your day, we plan to peacefully disperse at 13:00 but this is our opportunity to show the wider world, the media, even potential responsible owners, what Charlton means to our community.”

Danish businessman Thomas Sandgaard is in talks to buy the Addicks and told the South London Press yesterday that he was hopeful a deal could be in place by the end of this week.

Andrew Barclay, who was also keen on a takeover, withdrew yesterday after confirming he had been unable to open dialogue with Duchatelet, who still owns The Valley and club’s Sparrows Lane training ground.

ESI have been unable to get their own deal ratified by the EFL, with the governing body putting them under a player transfer embargo since the start of January.

But the trading restrictions have been ramped up since then and the Addicks are now only able to offer new signings a salary of £1,300 per week.

Charlton did get special dispensation to push through deals for Milton Keynes midfielder Alex Gilbey and Hearts striker Conor Washington last week.