One of five videos shot by Brian Silk at Charlton Athletic FC’s home match on Saturday has received almost 5,500 views on You Tube, so far, with 9,500 views across all the films. Brian shot various pieces of footage of fans’ protests against Addicks owner, Roland Duchatelet, and uploaded five of the best to his YouTube channel during the evening following the match, which was against Brighton and Hove Albion in the Championship.
Two of the films show fans’ protests before the match, with chanting and launching of black and white balloons printed with a portrait of Duchatelet. Footage shows Brighton fans joining in. Another film shows how fans delayed play for several minutes just after kick-off due to the volume of balloons and beach balls thrown on the pitch. A further film – the most popular – shows Charlton fans saluting Brighton fans after the match. And a final film shows Addicks fans gathering outside the club offices for a post-match protest.
Within a few minutes of a couple of the films going up on YouTube, Brian noticed they each had several views. He said, “I was amazed to see that one or two of the videos had been viewed quite a few times, even though I hadn’t let anyone know about them. I continued to monitor the hits over during the evening and the following day. The numbers kept going up and up.”
Brian was to discover that the upload of Charlton fans saluting the Brighton fans had been publicised on his behalf. Brian: “I did a search on the internet to try to find out why some of the videos were getting such a high number of views and found that C.A.R.D. (Campaign Against Roland Duchatelet) had posted a link on their Facebook page.”
Reflecting on the popularity of these videos, Brian said, “This was a case of being in the right place at the right time, and taking the opportunity to capture some special footage. With the fans’ salute, I was close by and knew that I couldn’t hesitate or the moment would pass. I’m delighted that I was able to provide some videos that people like and value. I’m not a serious Charlton fan, but the fans’ protests were incredibly moving, with many lump-in-the-throat moments, as I witnessed ordinary football supporters uniting to try to save their club. I salute them for their efforts and am proud to have perhaps contributed something to their cause.”