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Bag Limit Size Ban at The Valley - updated policy p13
Comments
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You shouldn’t have to bring big bags to a game as they get in the way. Wembley, O2 and West Ham the same, among many others ..1
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valleynick66 said:Sounds like they see a further money making option vis a vis a bag drop off facility.Can you imagine how disorganised this has the potential to be?
I'll give it one game before somebody complains that they have lost their bag.
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Fanny Fanackapan said:
I'll show you how old & moany I can be, you young whipper snapper.OhMyGodden said:
But you criticise everything the club does nowdays, and old people love moaning about everything.Fanny Fanackapan said:
This has to be an April Fools' Day joke come early !!!!clive said:Weegie Addick said:Club have replied to a fan that there will be a drop off facility in Covered End reception from 18.15 for tomorrow night.CAST are just checking how this will work eg will bags be tagged with fans given receipts and then bags securely stored during the match. It’s great that the club have listened to the concerns raised and implemented this drop off option.Supporters attending Wednesday's fixture with bags or luggage should be aware of the club's bag policy for the 2026/27 season.
Transparent bags are permitted inside the stadium. Reusable transparent bags are available to purchase from the club shop for 80p, allowing supporters to carry personal belongings or newly purchased merchandise into the ground.
Supporters bringing a laptop bag will be permitted to take it into the stadium, but it will be subject to a search before entry.
A new bag drop service will also be in operation for Wednesday's fixture. Located at the Covered End Reception, the bag drop will open from 5.45pm. Small bags can be stored for £5 per item, while bags larger than a rucksack will be charged £10 per item.
Click here to read the bag policy in full.
https://www.cafc.co.uk/news/matchday-info-charlton-v-queens-park-rangers
I am disgusted at how low our club has fallen in the operational side of things, including the catering which is a total mess, but also the communication issues ..or rather lack of such.
This has been a real concern for longer than I care to remember but has become laughable.
How many differing, confusing & belated announcements have now been made regarding the bag issue ???? Who, on here, at least, is completely, 100% sure of what the process will be , including from just over 24 hours' time ? My ( big) gob is totally smacked by this latest announcement which many fans will be completely unaware of when they arrive at The Valley tomorrow evening.
My first question is what is the Covered End Reception ? Is this the North Stand Reception as it's always been referred to as in the days of the POTY dinner ? And is this the ONLY drop off area on the Stadium, meaning a walk to & from the West before & after matches especiaally pertinent for evening games when some are rushing from work & then to get home after a long day....madness if this is the case. The area of entry to Crossbars is already busy pre match for bag checks. And why are "transparent bags " highlighted ? This presumably means that bo other kind of bag will be allowed. And no mention/reminder of the sizing this time ....or of the method/requirement to obtain an exemption. EVERYTHING undefined & open to interpretation. What is wrong with the department head that allows this kind of ill thought out " information" to posted on the OS ??????
But uppermost in my old mind is the cost of this "innovation" !!!! Unbelievable.
Weegie. This HAS to be taken up with the club before tomorrow when fans will be setting off for work etc at an early hour, confused about the issues facing them later in the day when ALL they want to do is to support their football team.
This, for me, is the tip of a very big iceberg that threatens to sink our own red & white Titanic unless some serious discussions are had ASAP to get things back on track before it's too late.
Something is very wrong in the state of SE7 & surely the appointment of an experienced CEO is crucial before everything descends into chaos.
Meet me in Crossbars, far end, past the 2nd bar tomorrow evening if you dare.....and I'll show you what REAL anger is !
If you had any pride in your football club, you'd have some understanding of why this latest piece of nonsense is just one example of the manner in which it is currently being run & why it is alarming for those of us who fought for its very existence.
What is it "they" say ? A " haddock" rots from its head ?
Make sure your handbag is nice and heavy when you whack him around the chops with it!
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Was it in the conditions when STs went on sale? If not can it be enforced under consumer law?8
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That is a different issue though. If they are saying "If you have mobility issues you cannot sit in the Upper West due to safety reasons" then they would have a coherent argument, but in this case the evacuation issue has not gone away.JohnnyH2 said:
This was raised as an issue during the KM era.Kap10 said:
This was not the only new season change. The main reception lift is used by older fans with health issues to get to their seats. I have been using it since i had a heart valve replacement and have come across a number of fans with mobility issues also using the lift. Previously we have been able to rock up at 2.30 and get to our seats with plenty of time to get a drink go to the loo. At the PNE game, my first of the season, we were told there is a new policy of letting in lift users no earlier than 10 minutes before kick off. Given that the lift only takes 4 people at a time and goes at a snails pace it will be sometime before all users are transported, so the situation of us oldens shuffling into our seats after the match has stared is real. To add insult to injury, if you arrive prior to 2.50 pm, you have to wait outside of reception. PNE was a wet day and the weather will not be getting better over the next few months.Sheepie1985 said:This seems to have snuck in as a rule completely unannounced from Saturday's game that bags bigger than A4 are banned from The Valley, CAST are on the case but I'm disappointed at the zero communication from the club about it, especially as I often have a rucksack with me to carry a coat & water, or whenever I come straight from work so I imagine it'll affect other fans too
https://www.castrust.org/2026/08/cast-calls-on-club-to-provide-bag-drop/
I have raised this with CADSA who have taken this us, i also mailed Fans@ and Advocates@, neither of whom have replied.
To me this is contrary to the clubs own policy on disability, as well as the policy to get fans seated early before the game.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to use my ST since PNE and will not be able to do so until after Pompey, so if anyone knows if this policy has been revised, I suggested a 2.30 pm entrance time, please post here.
The lift cannot be used in an emergency, so how would all these with mobility issues get out?0 -
It's definitely being enforced tonight. I saw three women with small backpacks sent to the bag drop.0
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I'd echo this, saw this happen at entrance to the Curbs Stand. Be carnage afterwards with loads collecting bags. If it continues people will have to bring smaller bags, change pre match habits or vote with their feet. I reckon the latter.AS1987 said:It's definitely being enforced tonight. I saw three women with small backpacks sent to the bag drop.2 -
Boo - hopefully covered end will be too busy at 7.45 for them to enforce it1
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Charge really high prices for a midweek game, then make bringing bags in a massive pain.
It's as if they’re deliberately trying to sabotage the gates.11 -
Absolutely not being enforced in West Stand - a lot of people with normal sized rucksacks in the ground.Even worse if it depends who’s looking - it should either be enforced or not.1
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A bog standard rucksack should be no problem in an ideal world. Quite petty really.5
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And if you have been at work all day and attending the match before you go home?Valleysarr said:You shouldn’t have to bring big bags to a game as they get in the way. Wembley, O2 and West Ham the same, among many others ..6 -
I came from work and put mine in my mates car.
Some poor women on the way in for turned away unless she went to pay £5 at the bag drop.
Spoke to my Arsenal mate and they can take checked bags in.
Absolute terrible customer experience.You reap what you sow. Sod them.4 -
It’s a money making scam that ultimately will lose the club money because it will put people off going . You have to wonder who makes these stupid decisions?12
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In which case it would've been the easiest thing to put this in the legislation .... but they didn't !cafcfan said:
I don't believe there are any EFL/FA standards imposed. It is down to the individual venue operators to decide (presumably in conjunction with their premises licence issuer - presumably in CAFC's case the RBG.)valleynick66 said:
Whilst of course this is the right and only acceptable outcome to my mind it only highlights how pointless the ‘policy’ is.CombeMartin said:
Those dimensions are easily smaller than A4 so you'll have no problem there,msomerton said:I want to bring a small thermal bag, with thermos inside, given that the bag is 23x17x16cm will I be allowed to and will they allow a thermos in. The blurb on the website not clear.
This is taking security to the ridiculous.
Re the queries about laptop bags, the club website info says they will be allowed but the steward will want to look inside, I presume thats the same as previously, given that they looked inside nearly all bags.
I emailed the email address quoted previously early this morning requesting that my (little bit larger than A4) bag be allowed quoting my reasons for it being allowed which were as per my earlier piece on here about its contents supporting my various health issues (needing to eat healthily, taking various medication (pills) with water, multiple pairs of glasses because of awkward eyes, snacks for grandson, and then additional clothing when it gets cold in winter time.
Thankfully at about 3pm this afternoon I received an email from Charlton agreeing with me and have allowed me to continue to bring my slightly bigger than A4 bag.If I wanted to be a ‘bad actor’ I’d seemingly be able to do a similar request to get a dispensation.It really feels that we have adopted an EFL / FA standard blindly with no real challenge / interpretation of the objectives and risks we need to mitigate.The reality I suspect is they really just want to ask people not to bring large bags unnecessarily and be prepared to have the contents looked at if you do with attendant delay. But we can’t find the right words / messaging to get that across.
It is true that virtually everywhere has now imposed a similar policy. It makes sense to set a bag size (A4) that is easily understood by most people. There are a number of reasons why large bags are bad. Primarily, I would think, because they can contain a larger amount of explosives/shrapnel but also because they become a nightmare in the event of an emergency evacuation event with no power/lighting availability.
We are still operating under a "severe" level warning for terrorist activity which means a repeat of the Manchester Arena bombing is considered "highly likely". It is difficult to imagine that threat level will ever go away isn't it? So we are just going to have to suck it up. Of course a "soft" target like a packed but not particularly high profile London football stadium would seem to me to be an ideal target for an Islamist extremist.0 -
Will be interesting to see how long it takes to retrieve bags from the drop area after the game.1
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West looked empty on the telly, I assume it was poor workers queuing up behind the north to try and check their laptop-rucksacks at a tiny kiosk staffed by one of the gather&gather geniuses….2
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Cricket matches allow bags in after a search.Hex said:
In which case it would've been the easiest thing to put this in the legislation .... but they didn't !cafcfan said:
I don't believe there are any EFL/FA standards imposed. It is down to the individual venue operators to decide (presumably in conjunction with their premises licence issuer - presumably in CAFC's case the RBG.)valleynick66 said:
Whilst of course this is the right and only acceptable outcome to my mind it only highlights how pointless the ‘policy’ is.CombeMartin said:
Those dimensions are easily smaller than A4 so you'll have no problem there,msomerton said:I want to bring a small thermal bag, with thermos inside, given that the bag is 23x17x16cm will I be allowed to and will they allow a thermos in. The blurb on the website not clear.
This is taking security to the ridiculous.
Re the queries about laptop bags, the club website info says they will be allowed but the steward will want to look inside, I presume thats the same as previously, given that they looked inside nearly all bags.
I emailed the email address quoted previously early this morning requesting that my (little bit larger than A4) bag be allowed quoting my reasons for it being allowed which were as per my earlier piece on here about its contents supporting my various health issues (needing to eat healthily, taking various medication (pills) with water, multiple pairs of glasses because of awkward eyes, snacks for grandson, and then additional clothing when it gets cold in winter time.
Thankfully at about 3pm this afternoon I received an email from Charlton agreeing with me and have allowed me to continue to bring my slightly bigger than A4 bag.If I wanted to be a ‘bad actor’ I’d seemingly be able to do a similar request to get a dispensation.It really feels that we have adopted an EFL / FA standard blindly with no real challenge / interpretation of the objectives and risks we need to mitigate.The reality I suspect is they really just want to ask people not to bring large bags unnecessarily and be prepared to have the contents looked at if you do with attendant delay. But we can’t find the right words / messaging to get that across.
It is true that virtually everywhere has now imposed a similar policy. It makes sense to set a bag size (A4) that is easily understood by most people. There are a number of reasons why large bags are bad. Primarily, I would think, because they can contain a larger amount of explosives/shrapnel but also because they become a nightmare in the event of an emergency evacuation event with no power/lighting availability.
We are still operating under a "severe" level warning for terrorist activity which means a repeat of the Manchester Arena bombing is considered "highly likely". It is difficult to imagine that threat level will ever go away isn't it? So we are just going to have to suck it up. Of course a "soft" target like a packed but not particularly high profile London football stadium would seem to me to be an ideal target for an Islamist extremist.2 -
I was stopped at the AC turnstyle by a steward with a screwed up blank sheet of A4. He said I wouldn't be allowed in with my somewhat larger than A4 pullstring bag. He told me I could take it to a bag store, waving his arm behind him. There was no mention of money. I told him no, I was taking it in. He said they would stop me inside. There were no stewards inside. I feel a complaint coming on.2
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I dropped three small backpacks off at Wycombe two seasons ago and was charged nothing. I called up in advance to ask permission and they were very helpful.
Charlton seem rather mercenary in comparison.0 -
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Big Q afterwards to collect bags getting in the way of people heading for the Fans’ Bar.1
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Stewards at the covered end lower were stopping people with fairly small rucksacks and diverting them up to where I presume the bag drop was located.No way would I trust the morons that work for the club with mu work laptop.Luckily I had seen the messages on here that they were enforcing the policy pretty strictly so I swopped my rucksack for a laptop bag at Kinveachy Towers pre-match.1
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Bag drop looked a bit chaotic 10mins before KO. Big queue going into the fans bar.0
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That is rubbing salt into the wounds, disgusting.EastTerrace said:I came from work and put mine in my mates car.
Some poor women on the way in for turned away unless she went to pay £5 at the bag drop.
Spoke to my Arsenal mate and they can take checked bags in.
Absolute terrible customer experience.You reap what you sow. Sod them.3 -
I didn't mention it earlier, although perhaps I should have. When I saw the stewards send the three women with small backpacks off to the bag drop, one of them said 'Wait until they find out they have to pay.' and all three stewards laughed.
It doesn't seem to be entirely clear what's going to happen going forward. Is Charlton going to be charging for the bag drop at every game, or will it only be for some fixtures, such as midweek games, where it's expected that more people will have bags with them?
If we contact the club asking to be allowed an oversized bag, will we now just be told to use the bag drop (unless it's for medical reasons), or will the exemption allow us to take it in? If it's the latter, I can see some of the stewards, who don't know better, insisting upon the bag drop being used anyway.3 -
My "Ryanair underseat bag" was allowed in to the Curbs, which was a relief as there was a massive queue at the Covered End reception to drop bags.0
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My son was warned for the future but was allowed his rucksack in without charge.2
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I have nothing to add...
...except I hope no-one having to queue for their bag after the match travelled home via the A2, M25, A21.
We arrived back in Tunbridge Wells at 12.30am.0 -
Similar journey home. a21 closed so A22 alsoFanny Fanackapan said:I have nothing to add...
...except I hope no-one having to queue for their bag after the match travelled home via the A2, M25, A21.
We arrived back in Tunbridge Wells at 12.30am.
closed further down. Got home 00:50.1 -
I need a bag for medical reasons, I contacted the club in advance and they sent me a letter confirming exemption
what could go wrong………
the steward wouldn’t let me in despite the letter. A colleague got involved but still refused access. I asked them to go get a supervisor which they did, I took the opportunity and entered the ground
very poor preparation and training
It makes me think is it worth it and should I watch he game on sky instead
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