Female CEO undaunted by hostile reception in English football

LONDON: Katrien Meire endured a baptism of fire in English football, with disgruntled fans even travelling to Belgium to present her parents with a dossier on how terrible she was as chief executive of Charlton.

But the Belgian lawyer, one of a handful of women in the boardrooms of English clubs, refused to be cowed and is now plotting how to lift sleeping giants Sheffield Wednesday back into the Premier League.

The 34-year-old was chief executive at Charlton from the start of 2014 until the end of 2017, during which time the south London side were relegated to the third tier of English football. She was blamed by supporters, who were angered by the manner in which she and owner Roland Duchatelet ran the club. They took exception to being labelled “customers” and to the succession of foreign managers — one fan harangued Meire on a train over the appointment of Israeli manager Guy Luzon.

A statement on the Charlton website accused some fans of wanting the club to fail as the atmosphere turned toxic.Meire, who had initially approached Duchatelet out of the blue, offering him advice on broadcasting rights, understands that fans are emotionally involved but says the Charlton supporters went too far.