Charlton Athletic

As others have said visiting wheelchair supporters will not be able to see the near goal of fans stand in front. We were even told by stewards before the game that we wouldn’t be able to see. He said the club knew of the issues but nothing has changed.
Twenty five pounds for a ticket and not be able to see.
We had to watch the highlights on TV to see the only goal of the game

One improvement at the Valley is for women’s matches ambulant disabled can enter the stadium by a gate instead of turnstile as tickets are card.

The forthcoming EFL Cup game between Charlton and Brighton on Wednesday 21st December seems to have a disproportionately smaller amount of wheelchair allocations compared to other allocations for away fans.
Only 7 wheelchair allocated spaces were showing when seats became available for booking at 09:00 on Monday 28th November and all had gone by 09:05.
Further seats have been made available for Brighton fans but no additional wheelchair spaces have been added. This seems very unfair for the Brighton disabled fans who like to travel to away games.

This is the 3rd review I have written here on our visits to Charlton as away fans. As my most recent is now 5 years ago, I have decided to write a full review, rather than just an update to my earlier ones. I am a powerchair user and my husband is severely visually impaired, we travelled to this game as we have for the past 12 years in an accessible minibus that is part of our club’s official away travel.

Arrival and Entry to the Ground
Traffic through London to an evening KO in schools’ half term was very busy making it a longer than expected journey to the ground, allow plenty of time for this. When we got to the road where the away entrance was for some very strange reason our driver was told by the stewards he had to reverse all the way but cars in front of him were not required to reverse! We felt we were better served being allowed to drop off at the away entrance than given one of what we understand are two spaces on the car park for away fans. The car park was very crowded, dark, uneven ground, no obvious route between vehicles to the exit and I found we were moving into oncoming traffic with the headlights in our eyes. It is also not a short distance for anyone who finds it difficult to walk even the shortest of distances. I note this has been said in previous reviews.

Once beyond the car park, you enter the away end with the away ticket booth on your right followed by the turnstyles and the accessible entrance is a gate beyond these. Bags were searched and labelled on entry. Through the gate you have about the same distance past the toilets and food concessions/bar on your left to the actual entry to the away stand. This area is pretty tight and can get easily crowded.

Seating Area
There is little I can add to all the negatives things that have already been said about this in earlier reviews by many people. Away wheelchair fans going to Charlton should expect to see not much or not go. Even with a seat riser on my chair and only 400 fans in a stand that I understand will take 3000, I could not see anything of the goal at our end, which was a complaint of other people sitting at the back of the main stand. The one advantage is that you won’t get rained on and you are well protected from the wind and stray balls. Given that Charlton are very aware of how poor the view is for away wheelchair users, I do wonder if this should be reflected in the ticket prices for these spaces as I know this happens at other grounds where the facilities are poor. Bottom line you pay to watch the match and can’t see a significant part of it!

Audio Commentary for VI Fans
As is usual, I emailed the DLO as per Charlton’s website about a week prior to the game to request the use of a headset for my husband. I asked if as on previous visits it could be with one of the stewards in the away end. Without any reference to this request, we were informed we should collect it prior to the game from the main stand. When I emailed back saying that as my husband had no sight in the dark and I was in a powerchair this would not be easy and asking why the previous arrangement could not operate again, I was told we could collect it from the away ticket office where it would be left with our name on it. As always I go with this email printed so there can be no denial of the arrangement made. Yes you have guessed no headset at the away ticket office. What is more the away ticket office has no accessibility for disabled fans and after struggling to present my email the first thing we were told was “you can’t collect tickets because your coach is late”, but we weren’t wanting tickets! Our guess is the arrangement to leave the headset there had been forgotten and it had to be brought down to us whilst we waited. On a dry, mild night fair enough but had it been raining! Whilst as always, we are very grateful for the provision of the headset, not impressed by the experience of collecting the headset, particularly when it has worked so well in the past. Headset worked and commentary accurate and helpful, albeit the views rather than the facts were very biased in favour of the home fan experience. My husband did wonder if the commentators were aware that they had away fans amongst their audience. I did email the DLO after the game to check the headset had been returned to them, giving the number of the steward I handed it to, usually they respond thanking me, no response from Charlton after a week.

Accessible Toilet
On the left as you approached entrance to the stand, strangely no sign on the door indicating what it is. I think it is the door next to the gents but I may have this wrong, so worth asking. Clean with all provisions (only cold tap). Barely big enough for my 6-wheeled chair and the position of the hand drier made it almost impossible for me to get my hands to it.

Catering
I am told it was all reasonably priced although I did not sample it myself. The bar area seemed very congested and you would get wet if it was raining!

Stewards
Warmly welcomed us and as usual very open about the viewing issues. What disappointed me was when an elderly couple arrived after the start of the game (mobility was obviously an issue for them both) they were initially seated at the far end of the stadium where it was obvious they would see nothing. When I pointed this out, the result was they were moved to the beginning of the stand, where they should have been sat to begin with and so avoid long walks in both directions.

Leaving the Stadium
We were amongst the first fans to leave the stand and probably just as well as the floor immediately beyond the stand was littered with empty plastic pint tumblers such as made it very difficult for me to avoid getting them stuck in my wheels and almost impossible for my husband with his white cane to find a path through them. As if that was not bad enough before we got far, I came across something on the ground about 2ft by 3ft which in poor lighting I could not at first make out, it was a layer of pies! So many in such a defined shape could not have been dropped by individual fans but must have been dropped by delivery or stadium staff. Apart from being a nightmare for my husband and I to negotiate I did think that at least some of the crowd behind us would not see it in time and end up skidding on squashed pies! As far fetched as it may seem, this did happen. Both in relation to the plastic “glasses” and the pies my question is why were these not cleared up before the end of the game? Stadium staff must have known they were there!

Overall
Sadly for a range of reasons Charlton offers a poor experience for disabled away fans as detailed through the reviews of many. Certainly not a ground you would encourage someone to go to for their first experience of an away trip, which is sad as I think for all its shortcomings, the ground does have atmosphere.

Disabled car park booked by cafc in wrong car park.
Space in West stand double booked.
Space not suitable for frame transfer and wheelchair user.
All Spaces furthest away from stands.
Space on a slope.
Stewards not inducted stating its thier first game and have no idea of disabled access.
West stand lift out of order.
Miss directed by steward to wrong location.
Finally after 1 hour of stress and feeling like a 2nd class citzen treated with respect by a supervisor in disabled section of NE area named Sam.
Overall a terrible experience, very keen on behalf of all supporters to help my club get it right.

I am a disabled supporter, i am just replying to the Derby supporters comment,
The supporter stated he did not get a reply from the liason officer when emailed, if he had been to Charlton before, which it appears he has, he would realise that we do it 2 ways…we have an email or he could have phoned your number 02083334000, he should have just chosen hold for reception or they would have got liason member of staff to inform he wasn’t available and they would take their contact details.
He or his wife could have contacted reception and spoken to a member of staff or requested a call back….Mr Kishan would have called them back as soon as he could.
me and my helper would have helped if we were able to attend that match, we have attended all matches except the derby one due to us having a problem. I wish we had as i am a helpful person when i can be.
I would have made the match up there in December but about 4 days before, i physically could not move, if i could have done i would have spoken to the people and resolved the matter.
Please try and be complimentary about our liason officer and his staff as they are very helpful.

As a Disabled away supporter be prepared for a poor matchday experience. Wheelchair bays do not have much pitch visibility if you have a large number of away supporters. Ambulant disabled are not allowed to exit through the pitchside gates but have to climb back up through the stand or wait until the crowd has dispersed. Then you end up at the back and then your carer has twice the work to do to assist you. Stewards the worst I have come across in knowledge of safety.

MY WIFE IS DISABLED AND USERS A WHEELCHAIR THE LAST TIME WE VISITED THE VALLEY THE AWAY WHEELCHAIR VIEWING AREA WAS VERY POOR.
AWAY FANS STAND UP INFRONT OF THE DISABLED SO IF YOU ARE IN A WHEELCHAIR YOU HAVE NO CHANCE WHAT SOEVER OF SEEING THE GAME.
THE UPER LEVEL OF THIS STAND REMAINS EMPTY .
IMY WIFE AND MYSELF HAVE BEEN GOING TO EVERY GAME HOME AND AWAY FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW SO I EMAILED THE DISABLED LIASON OFFICER AT CHARLTON ASKING THE QUESTION WHY THE AWAY FANS COULD NOT BE SITUATED IN THE UPPER TIER LEAVING THE LOWER TIER FOR AMBULANT AND WHEELCHAIR VIEWING.
THE LIASON OFFICER MR.KISHAM PARMAR HAS NOT HAD THE DECENCY TO REPLY.

MY WIFE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GO TO THE GAME AS THE COST OF TICKET AND TRAVEL AND NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE THE GAME WOULD BE MONEY WASTED.

MY WIFE LOVES HER FOOTBALL AND CHARLTON ARE MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR HER TO GO.

PEOPLE TALK ABOUT DISCRIMINATION WELL CHARLTON ARE DISCRIMINATING AGAIST MY WIFE.

ALL CLUBS SHOULD BE MADE TO ACCOMMODATE DISABLED AWAY SUPPORTER IN AN AREA WHERE THEY CAN SEE THE WHOLE OF THE PITCH IN A SAFE MANNER.
MY CLUB DERBY COUNTY HAVE MADE A SAFE AREA FOR AWAY DISABLED WHEELCHAIR SUPPORTERS ON A PLATFORM THAT ALLOWS THEM TO WATCH THE GAME IN COMFORT.

ALL CLUBS SHOULD BE MADE TO ACCOMMODATEALL DISABLED SUPPORTERS IN A SAFE AND CLEAR VIEW AREA.

I am a home season ticket holder and I have been for many years. I attended our game on Saturday against Birmingham. Everything was going brilliantly apart from as having a player sent off and our manager dismissed and conceding a goal. It was when we conceded a goal that the problem arrised. A small minority of visiting supporters thought it clever to start letting off flairs. My point is we are family club and we dont expect that. Secondly I know that minority might not have seen them but our visitors had four wheelchairs and three ambulant with them not only their safety was concerning the stewards and our supporters but the safety of our own disabled supporters and anyone else. In my opinion I think clubs should search people more I know people try to hide things like that but it is not acceptable. It has not put me off I shall be returning for our next home game against Leeds and hopefully Swansea but I still have to sort that out.

Reply to comment from Stephen Kelly.

Published 16/10/17.

” The club had decided back in July that any wheelchair user who needs to pass in front of the dugouts to reach their wheelchair space should arrive at least 15 minutes before kick – off to avoid disrupting player and coaching staff access. Stewards had been directed to hold wheelchair users in other bays until half-time should they arrive within this 15 minute period. Information had been supplied, and is still available, on the Disabled Supporters website and Facebook page as well as an Email being sent out to all members in July.”

I arrived at our match against Doncaster at the weekend (Saturday 14th October). I was about to go the normal way that i go, then was called back by one of the stewards and was taken another way. The reason i was given is so i could avoid the substitutes for Charlon and the visiting team. In the 25 years i have been coming to The Valley there has never been any issues with this, so why now?

Our Cub’s wheelchair accessible mini bus that we travel in was told to park on the car park within the Stadium which is near to the away entrance but still resulted in a substantial walk for those fans we had with severe walking difficulties and those carers pushing manual wheelchairs. Provision for away wheelchair fans as shown in photographs of earlier reviews becomes totally inadequate if the fans in the seating in front stand as it seems they always do. It was our experience that the Chartlton Stewards were very aware of this and did their best to ensure we could see the game by moving us as necessary after they explained this was the only option available to them. My visually impaired husband said that the headset commentary he got was excellent, informative and fair.

We are a club whosefacilities are improving and we manage to look after as many visiting supporters as possible – wheelchair user or ambulant. If disabled supporters need help, we have a disability co-ordinator, alot of stewards plus the disabled Charlton supporters and our carers who will try and help as much as we can.

I am a home season ticket holder, and have been for a lot of years; we do have parking but it has to be booked through our disabled liaison officer. Usually, there are 2 or 3 accessible car parking spaces for away fans and as we only have 7 spaces for away fans who use wheelchairs. This might appear adequate.

As far as I’m aware, Charlton Athletic don’t have any parking. Not sure what it is like for parking round the ground as I went on train with my nephews so they were able to help me. This is another ground where the view is very bad when fans stand up.

Attended match with a group of ambulant disabled supporters with learning disability and one with limited mobility and their helpers. On arrival we were greeted by a steward who asked if we were registered disabled, strange question! We were led through a gated entrance to the rear of the lower tier of the stand to a row of four seats adjacent to the Wheelchair Stalls. We were told that we could sit there but if helpers would have to move elsewhere. We had no chance of seeing the pitch due to standing supporters in front of us and this fact along with the point that the helpers needed to be seated with their disabled friends was brought to the attention of the stewards. Much debate followed and eventually once the match had started, it was suggested that we may like to move to the front row of the upper tier. A long walk up a ramp and down several steps achieved a reasonable view but was difficult for a person with limited mobility. Not a great experience, facilities poor and stewards appear to lack basic disability awareness as continually referred to disabled people as only being those who used wheelchairs!

Stewards – All were knowledgable, friendly & well organised. They came and specifically checked we were ok at half time, which was a nice touch.

Wheelchair provision – allowed our club’s mini-bus to unload/load us fans in wheelchairs right outside the entrance. Convenient, accessible clean toilet. Away wheelchair provision is in individual “stalls” each with a fold down carer seat. These stalls extend the full length of the away end at the back of the away fans seating. Lots available and stewards were happy for us to choose which stall we took regardless of what was printed on our tickets. This was useful as I would endorse previous comments that if the fans (even if they are no of rows away)in front of you stand up, you can’t see (definite design fault). As there were only 3 of us we choose to sit at the end where our fans were not standing so it was not an issue for us. This was the only (potential) negative we identified.

As my husband is partially sighted, he requested (as he always does) a headset commentary, this was waiting for him, it worked and was a good commentary. This was our first visit to Charlton. We thoroughly enjoyed our Valentines Day visit to the Valley and would not hesitate to go again. A particular thank you for the free “doggy bag” suppers offered to us at the end of the game!

Have attended the Valley a lot as I have been a season ticket holder for many years. Home ends are all right, you can see. In defence of the away supporters – when the away supporters stand up, it is difficult to see. The only thing the away supporters can do is to encourage the stewards to get them to sit down. Apart from that it is a good day out and we look after visiting supporters, especially in wheelchairs.

Have been to “The Valley” several times and sat in many locations. Views very good and if in the main stand the facilities are way you are looked after is market leading. Where else does a catering staff take a half time order and deliver it to you avoiding bustling ques etc…?

The area around the stadium is quite hilly, so tricky for parking and those in manual wheelchairs or with mobility problems

when away supporters in front of wheelchair platform stand – was that a goal?

view when away supporters in front of wheelchair platform remain seated

Wheelchair positions for away supporters