The leader of Greenwich Council has spoken out over the “deeply concerning” situation at Charlton Athletic Football Club after staff hit out at cuts.

Council leader Dan Thorpe has encouraged the club’s owner Roland Duchâtelet to “do the right thing” after staff spoke out on a U-turn on promised bonuses.

Administrative staff say they were due to be paid “incentivised bonuses” on July 31, but in an email to staff on Wednesday Duchâtelet said the money would not be paid because the club had “a very bad financial year”.

This summer it emerged the club had stopped giving bottled water to youth players at its training ground, as one of a number of moves to cut costs -which has also included removing paper towels from stadium toilets.

In a letter shared with this newspaper, Cllr Thorpe said: “I am deeply concerned by the news that the club is not to pay bonuses promised to administrative staff and I urge you to reconsider this.

“I appreciate the club is facing serious financial challenges at this time but I am worried that the low-paid staff affected, including many who live in the Royal Borough, will suffer financial hardship from this move.

“Charlton Athletic Football Club has such a long proud history and has so many fans whose families have loved and supported the club for generations. However there is now a huge groundswell of concern over this issue and it is a testament to the strong feelings here in the Royal Borough that so many fans are set to take part in a protest which could disrupt the match on Saturday.

“I urge you to do the right thing and pay the incentivised bonuses the staff have been promised so everyone can unite to support the club through this difficult period at The Valley on Saturday.”

Duchâtelet, who has owned Charlton since 2014, is reportedly in the process of selling the club to an Australian consortium, however this has dragged on for some months prompting protests from fans.

The club have no permanent manager, with Lee Bowyer acting as caretaker since Karl Robinson left in March, and no formal chief executive since Katrien Meire left in January.

MP Matthew Pennycook described this week’s revelations as “utterly shambolic” and fans are planning a protest at this Saturday’s match at The Valley.

The Coalition Against Roland Duchatelet is an umbrella for Charlton Supporters campaiging to rid the club of its owner. 

A Charlton CARD spokesperson said: "We welcome and share the deep concern of the Greenwich Council leader that modestly paid staff, many of whom live in the borough, are not receiving their promised bonuses.

"The football club is a significant cultural icon in the borough of Greenwich, with a proud history, and the council should be hugely concerned about the reputational damage being done to the area by Roland Duchatelet's destructive time in charge.

"The council also needs to consider its own relationships: for example it has a partnership with the Charlton Athletic Community Trust that delivers a range of fantastic work, whether that's youth services in the borough or comprehensive health improvement and crime reduction programmes.

"We would not want to see that damaged, yet that relationship doesn't work without the football club."