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Charlton 'extremely saddened' by fan protests versus Middlesbrough

Charlton have issued a statement claiming to be "extremely saddened'' by events at The Valley prior to and during their 2-0 Championship victory against Middlesbrough.

Supporters held a mock funeral for the struggling London club ahead of Sunday's game, with fans carrying a coffin to the ground.

The game was also held up 30 seconds after kickoff when a large number of beach balls were thrown onto the pitch.

Addicks fans were voicing their displeasure at chief executive Katrien Meire and owner Roland Duchatelet at the way the club is being run, with the win against Boro only their seventh of the season.

The protests appear to have had an impact, however, with Charlton releasing a statement which read: "The club is extremely saddened by the situation which has led to supporters demonstrating ahead of, and during, the match against Middlesbrough on Sunday.

"Every supporter has the right to voice their opinion and we are determined to do everything we can to work together with supporters to build our relationship with them and make sure they remain at the heart of this club.

"We would like to thank supporters for getting behind the team today as we picked up a valuable three points in our fight to stay in the Championship.''

Charlton are currently second from bottom in the Championship table, five points adrift of safety with a significantly inferior goal difference to the teams around them.