LIVID Charlton fans have shown football bosses the red card for the "shambles" which forced them into a wasted 600-mile journey.

More than 500 Addicks' fans travelled to watch their team play Newcastle United only for the match to be postponed minutes before kick-off.

Now the supporters who made the 15-and-a-half hour round trip have hit out at the Football Association (FA), claiming it is treating them "like mugs".

Referee Mike Dean had passed the pitch at St James' Park fit to play, despite heavy snow before the Premiership clash.

But with kick off just 20 minutes away, Newcastle's safety officer decided to call the game off because of concerns about supporter safety.

The Bexley branch of the Charlton Supporters' Club has around 1,000 members, many of whom made the fruitless trip north.

Branch secretary Steve Bailey said: "The FA needs to show some common sense. The bottom line is we shouldn't have to go up to Newcastle on a Wednesday night.

"The whole thing is a shambles."

Betty Hutchins, who spent £28 on a ticket and £12 on coach travel, was one of those left stranded.

She left her home, in Humber Road, Dartford, at 11am and arrived home at 2.30am the following morning without seeing a ball kicked.

Mrs Hutchins, who has supported Charlton for 40 years, said: "It is a joke the FA are making us go up there at this time of year. Why can't we have local games?

"There were kids on the coach who had never been to Newcastle and were looking forward to seeing their heroes. It's so sad.

"The fans are being treated like mugs. It's absolutely disgusting."

Charlton chief executive Peter Varney is also unhappy, describing the situation as "absolutely diabolical".

The FA says all fixtures are decided before the season by a computer but added it is not possible to avoid some long-distance fixtures at this time of year.