CARD postpone plans for rally as director Richard Murray arranges meeting with Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust

Coalition Against Roland Duchatelet have postponed their plans to hold a rally before Charlton’s home game against Walsall on Saturday.

CARD had issued a statement earlier this week asking for fans to gather in front of the west stand before the match when they would call on director Richard Murray to address them.

But Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust announced on Wednesday that the former Addicks chairman – one of only two directors on the board with Duchatelet the other – would meet them before the game to discuss the latest on takeover talks.

“CAS Trust welcomes this approach and looks forward to the meeting,” they stated. “We will publicise outcomes from the meeting as soon as is practically possible.”

CARD added: “CAST is an important part of our coalition and we believe that its chair and vice-chair can be relied upon to ask the necessary questions about the club’s current situation. Of course, it remains to be seen whether any satisfactory answers are provided.

“This meeting is a direct outcome of our statement and in the light of it we are postponing our rally from Saturday, since it makes no sense to ask Richard Murray to hold both a private meeting and a public one on the same day. Clearly, what is discussed in private must be shared publicly afterwards.

“CARD’s aim this week has been to get answers and positive outcomes for Charlton fans. We do not stage protests for their own sake, and we believe a postponement is the reasonable and responsible approach to take in this case, although as ever we realise there will be a range of views about that.

“We will make a further statement about our next move when we have reviewed any information that comes out of the meeting.”

Murray has been left as the public face of the current board since chief executive Katrien Meire joined Sheffield Wednesday.

Duchatelet has not attended a Charlton match since 2014.

Winger Ricky Holmes was sold to Sheffield United for £400,000 this week while Everton are expected to land Ezri Konsa for £4million.

”We want a guarantee that if Konsa goes without a takeover then a significant part of the fee will be made available to [Karl] Robinson to strengthen the team,” said CARD in a statement earlier this week.

“We also want a timeline for takeover negotiations with clarity about whether a deal is possible or likely before the end of January.”