Charlton Athletic's owner has confirmed that he will not attend his side's League One play-off final this weekend.
The Addicks take on Sunderland at Wembley on Sunday afternoon, but owner Roland Duchatelet says safety fears will stop him from attending the game.
The Belgian is an unpopular figure with the club, but believes he is the victim of a ‘witch hunt’ from ‘uncontrollable’ fans of his side.
“Some people are still threatening me, so would you go if you were threatened like me? I think that’s the problem really," Duchatelet, who has not been to a Charlton game since October 2014, told talkSPORT .
“It’s certainly too risky. The problem is these people have developed an intense and very emotional hate against me, so it’s more or less like a witch hunt.
“They cannot control themselves anymore and that’s the problem. I’m sorry, I’m just not coming.
“Basically, what counts today is that we all support a team that’s doing well, but unfortunately, I will not be able to come.
“What matters now is that we all support the team and that’s the only thing that counts. We need to win and that’s what’s important today.”
