Charlton fans protest and staff rage as owner Roland Duchatelet reneges on bonus promise
Fans and club staff are united in fresh fury against Duchatelet’s austerity measures, after he confirmed that he will renege on agreements made to pay bonuses to staff
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Your support makes all the difference.Charlton Athletic are sinking into further turmoil as supporters plan a protest outside the Valley on Saturday afternoon over Roland Duchatelet’s withholding of promised bonus payments to staff.
Fans and club staff are united in fresh fury against Duchatelet’s austerity measures, after he confirmed that he will renege on agreements made to pay bonuses to staff that were due on 31 July. Duchatelet has been cutting costs all summer in an attempt to claw back losses before a sale, but the club has still not been sold and Lee Bowyer’s young team has been hamstrung as a result.
Duchatelet’s harsh cuts have banned youth team players from drinking bottled water at the Sparrows Lane training ground, as well as restrictions on food, electricity and wifi, all sold as the club becoming “cost conscious”.
Now Duchatelet has confirmed that the club will not be paying 10 per cent bonuses that staff were due after meeting agreed targets. “The club had a very bad financial year last season and because of this the club will not be paying incentivised bonuses,” Duchatelet wrote in an email to staff on Wednesday morning. “Before we can look at bonuses in the future, we need to restore the club’s financial health.”
According to a senior member of staff at the club, Duchatelet’s email was met with anger, but no real sense of surprise that he had withheld the money. This was the first time Duchatelet had communicated with his employees all summer, except for a statement released on the website in July to update on the faltering takeover process.
Later on Thursday Charlton staff sent an open response to Duchatelet expressing their “extreme disappointment” with his decision to withhold the bonus money he had promised. “The work produced by staff, who dedicate their lives and go above and beyond to do their best for Charlton Athletic Football Club, is dependent on a large amount of goodwill,” said the letter.
“That goodwill has been seriously eroded by what we regard as severely unfair treatment of loyal staff whose hard work and dedication have not been rewarded as promised…The unanimous feeling amongst staff was that of anger and upset at both your decision and the lack of previous communication surrounding the money that we were due to be paid on 31 July.”
Charlton fans reacted to the news with similar anger, and are now planning a protest in solidarity with club staff.
The Coalition Against Roland Duchatelet (CARD) released a statement asking stay-away fans to return to the Valley on Saturday to make their point clear.
“We are suspending our boycott call for Saturday’s home match with Fleetwood Town and asking as many supporters as possible to join in a demonstration to show their solidarity with the staff and the extent of their concern about the wider situation.”
CARD went on to say that they would “fully support” any action taken by club staff in protest against Duchatelet’s actions, even if led to the game being called off, “because we believe that would be a proportionate outcome to the years-long betrayal of staff and supporters alike”.
Charlton fans have increasingly stayed away from the Valley over the last few years of Duchatelet’s disastrous ownership of the club. This season they have sold an estimated 5,000 season tickets, less than half of the figure before Duchatlet bought the club. “Thousands of supporters have already stopped attending matches,” said the CARD statement. “CARD believes this is the time for Charlton fans to stand up for their club – before there is nothing left to get behind.”
Charlton Athletic were contacted and a club spokesperson reiterated the words of Duchatelet’s email to staff earlier in the day. “Since Roland Duchatelet took over Charlton four and a half years ago, every employee has been paid on time, every month. This will not change,” the spokesperson said. “The club will continue to fulfil contractual obligations. The club had a very bad financial year last season and because of this the club will not be paying incentivised bonuses. Before we can look at bonuses in the future, we need to restore the club’s financial health.”
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