WAR (Women Against the Regime) is a recently launched fans group by female supporters of Charlton Athletic. Amongst the group's aims is to dispel recent accusations that fan unrest at the club is misogynistic.
An introduction and additional information on WAR can be read below.
Who are Women Against the Regime (WAR)?
We are a group of female supporters of Charlton Athletic FC. Our acronym is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the assertion about fan protests by CEO Katrien Meire in her talkSPORT interview on 27/10/16 that “this war, if we can refer to this as a war, is resolved through talking.”
For over a year we have individually supported peaceful, lawful, legitimate protests against the owner Roland Duchâtelet, his spokeswoman in Charlton, Katrien Meire, and their poor stewardship of the club. We no longer believe the issue of their incompetent management of Charlton Athletic can be resolved by talking, because the evidence of the past three years is that, although they may talk when it suits them, they do not actively listen.
We welcome the opportunity for capable women, as well as men, to excel in all areas of life, and feel well placed to counter perceptions of misogyny as the cause of the Charlton protests. We have scrutinised the public actions of Meire and Duchâtelet, and our contention is that this Regime is not fit for purpose. That one is a 32 year old female, and the other is a 70 year old male is totally irrelevant.
Why have we formed a new group?
During the “Taxi For Roland” protest in Roland’s home town, St. Truiden, Belgium, a newspaper journalist from HET Belang Van Limburg asked Duchâtalet for his response. Duchâtelet said that he was “not pleased” and accused those involved of being “some former employees of the club who can't bear it that a young woman is actually CEO”. (Published 15/11/16).
None of the protesters who accompanied the taxi has ever worked for the club. Two of them are women, both initially supportive of Katrien Meire until further observation of her convinced them of her ineptitude. The problem with the CEO is her on-going incompetence, not her age or sex. So, we feel that by forming a women’s group, we can prevent the owner from further deliberate misrepresentation that the campaigns against the CEO are gender motivated.
We do not trust the regime, nor do we share its vision for the future of our club. Like thousands of other Charlton supporters, male and female, we will do all that is legally possible to persuade them to sell up and leave, before the damage they are doing to Charlton Athletic becomes irreparable.
Please follow us on Twitter @CAFCWAR.
Any female Charlton fans who would like to show their support for the group and potentially help with future activity, please email womenagainsttheregime@gmail.com.